Rex Rice survived on the Rimworld for two years. He believed that he would face adversity for the rest of his life, as the Rimworld see's to it that you fail. However, fate seems to have something else in store.
Rex Rice, a survivor of a crashlanded escape pod has spent the last two years of his life on a Rimworld, an unknown planet in the universe. It's known to be an unforgiving land, filled with pirates, tribals, and mechanical machines designed to kill.
Throughout his entire time on the world, he had lived alone. He didn't exactly care about being alone, or atleast that is what he had told himself. Either way, the loneliness he had been feeling for the past two years will soon be swept away.
With the help of some magical creatures, that is.
WARNING
This story contains heavy scenes of brutality, gore, rape, and other things that may make the viewer uncomfortable. If you have trouble with these concepts, or do not feel comfortable reading about these concepts in detail, please, do not read this story.
After a hard day of work, I had finally gotten the last solar panel repaired.
You know, It would've been much easier if it weren't currently snowing, but I didn't have much of a choice. The world decides when it gets cold or hot, and you just gotta' deal with it. It's really unfair, but that's just life, isn't it? I didn't care much about the snow though, I was just glad I had finally gotten the power issue under control.
That was until I figured out just how stupid I was.
Repairing these damn solar panels wouldn't mean shit if they were just going to get snowed over. Meaning, currently, they were useless.
Dammit! How come I didn't think of this sooner? Now the entire area was running on maybe two days worth of battery juice, which obviously was not good. I needed to get this situation sorted immediately, and I had just the idea to fix it. Hopefully, this one isn't going to end up a dead end like the damned solar panels. No, instead I was going to pull out the old generator I had kept in storage. I had only ever used it when I crash-landed, and decided to put it away since it required wood for fuel. Even with as many tree's around me as there is, I didn't like the idea of having to use all of my wood to fuel a damn generator. I opted for alternatives like solar panels, and windmills.
The windmills were still going, though solar panels were basically useless, so that old crummy generator has a purpose now, if only for the winter. I began walking through the deep snow, loving the sound of the crunch below my feet. I'm glad that I wasn't too far away from my house, as the snow was knee-deep and already getting me quite cold. My parka kept me warm for the most part, but my pants weren't exactly built for this weather. I trudged along still before reaching the front of my door, swinging it open and stepping inside, finally escaping the cold death outside.
I slammed the door shut and shook my pants clean of snow, wiping them down with my gloves. Just because I don't have a luxurious living space doesn't mean I shouldn't still keep a little etiquette. With my pants now snow-free, and the bottom of my boots also snow-free, I began to walk through my little living space.
It wasn't much. I had a bed, an end table, a lamp, a table with a chair, and a door that led to the kitchen and freezer. On the opposite side from the kitchen was storage, my destination. I opened the door, breathing in the dust from the room as I walked inside. I definitely needed to clean storage up, but that could wait until I had time to worry about such trivial things. I slowly stepped over the various items that were strewn all across the room, making it all the way to the far corner where the generator laid.
Why did I have to put this heavy thing in the corner? Was past me really that idiotic?
I gave a loud sigh, shaking my head. "Dammit.." I grabbed the side of the generator and began to pull it along the floor. No way in hell was I picking that thing up when I could just drag it. I kicked things out of the way with my feet as I pulled the generator all the way to the main room, kicking it into the far left corner where the main electric wires ran through. Dusting it off with my gloves, I examined it up close to make sure nothing was wrong with it. Thankfully there wasn't anything wrong with it as far as I could tell, and I plugged it into the wires. Now all I needed was some fuel.
Now, I could've used wood like I usually would, but instead I opted for something better. Chemfuel.
Yeah, a week or so ago some idiots tried to come attack me. I didn't even know they were coming, so my turrets weren't on, and it turns out one of said idiots had a chemfuel container with him. I assumed he was going to use it to set fire to the place, but he didn't make it farther than my front door. Thanks to him, I could put it to some good use. Even with this shitty world doing all it can to fuck me over, sometimes I almost believe that it rewards me for putting up with it. Nah, i'm probably just going crazy.
Retrieving the chemfuel container from storage, I walked back to the generator and opened the black-lid on the top of it, pouring the entire container of chemfuel into it. I shook the container, making sure I got every last drop in there before twisting the lid back on, and flicking the switch. The generator began to hum as it warmed up. I expected something to go wrong but, to my surprise, nothing did. It worked as I hoped for.
"Look at you, Rex. Maybe you can really do things without fucking it up atleast once!" I told myself with a light chuckle. I was glad I didn't have to worry about the electricity problem no longer, atleast for the time being. Sure, whenever I need to turn on the turrets it'll drain like crazy, but I don't think i'll have to do that any time soon. You'd have to be crazy to raid anybody during this weather. Though, that doesn't really prove much, since most of the people that have tried raiding me are crazy.
Either way, I don't think i'll have to worry about power for the rest of winter. When spring hits, I can work on getting more power alternatives set up so I can finally get some hydroponics set up. It was a shame I couldn't get any of that done before the winter, but, I can't complain now. Besides, it wouldn't have mattered much. I've got plenty of meat and other food stored in the freezer that'll last me well past the winter. Some tribals passed by right before winter and showed me pemmican. It's like.. food that tastes like shit, but really never expires. I happily grabbed a ton of that stuff from them, despite it tasting like complete garbage. It was always good to have something to fall back on incase any shit goes down.
Also, seeing those tribals faces light up when I showed them things like a flashlight was quite funny. I mean, they had to have spent an hour just fidgeting with the damn thing before happily offering me almost all of their stuff. I declined though, as I had no use for the stuff they had. It was strange though, considering most tribes here on the Rim were used to seeing things like guns, electricity, and mechanical devices. Though these tribals seemed to almost be shut out from the rest of the world.
I hope they're doing alright in this cold, and putting that flashlight to good use. Though, now that I think of it, they'll probably have it on so much that it'll kill the battery. They might come back to me and get pissed for selling them a fake or something. It's whatever though, i'll just give them two flashlights next time. Genius idea.
With the night's problems solved, I was ready to sleep. I hated sleeping in my clothing, but with how cold it is outside, and with my heater only providing a little heat, it was mandatory unless I wanted a finger to fall off. With a sigh, I walked over to my bed and collapsed on top of it, burying my head into the pillow. I was ready to dream about a cool summer day.
POP
I lifted my head up immediately, staring at my door. There was definitely something outside, human or animal. Without hesitation I grabbed my bolt-action and headed for the door. Right before I opened the door, I flicked on a small switch next to it. I could hear the electricity run from the switch through the wires, and I heard the familiar hum of the turrets outside turning on.
Who would it be this time? Some tribals? Pirates? Cannibals? Or perhaps a bear that fucked with one of my turrets.
Didn't really care, whatever it was was going to get a bullet. I swung the door open, pointing my rifle ahead of me as I trudged through the snow. I could view the blue lights of my turrets in the distance, their barrels scanning around the area, watching for any movement. I was extremely thankful to have them on my side. They were the closest thing to company as I got around here for the most part.
I will admit, I have talked to them a few times. I swear I'm not crazy.
Though my gratitude for the automated machines disappeared quickly.
POP
All of my turrets immediately froze, and a purple wave was sent through the entire area. It wasn't like a shockwave however, it just swept through the landscape. I immediately assumed it was some sort of EMP grenade that was recently developed, though I don't know why it would send out a big purple wave.
I aimed my rifle in the direction of the popping sound. I could see an outline of something not far off in the distance, though I wasn't sure if I was able to hit it in the dark. I thanked myself for attaching a flashlight to my rifle with tape before I turned it on, the bright light illuminating the figure in the distance. My finger was ready to pull the trigger back as soon as I saw it, though I stopped.
Whatever the hell it was, had four legs. It was also purple, just like the wave that was sent out. It looked like some alien animal I had never seen before. I gave a loud sigh.
This is what all the fuss was about? This tiny little purple horse-looking thing?
I sighed, shaking my head as I kept my rifle aimed at it. I thought scaring it off would do the trick, so I yelled. "Hey! Get! Outa' here you purple fuckin'.. thing!"
I felt a shiver fall down my back as after I yelled the creature looked at me with wide eyes. It looked confused and scared. I was able to get a good look at its face now, seeing that it had a horn. It's eyes were large too, and it actually was kind of adorable. Though, being adorable didn't mean you weren't deadly. Perhaps I could tame it? It'd have to be later, as all I wanted was it away from my house so I could sleep.
"Hey!" I yelled again. "Get! I need my sleep!" I began to walk towards the purple-horn-pony thing, my rifle aimed at it still. It simply watched as I got closer, its eyes widening with each step I took. I was expecting it to run off from being scared, but it looked frozen in fear. "I swear if you don't get your purple ass out of here, I'm gonna' kil-"
"I'm sorry!"
..Huh?
The pony-thing cowered in fear now, covering its body with what seemed to be wings that came from its sides. Wings?
Nevermind that, I had something more important to think about. The fucking thing spoke. I've always heard tales of creatures like a Thrumbo that could speak, but i've never actually heard something non-human, or atleast non-human and non-machine speak.
It's voice trembled when it spoke, obviously fearful of my presence. I simply stared at it, watching it cower in fear still. What the hell was I supposed to do? I don't even know how to continue, since this thing just spoke. Now knowing that it can speak, I can't just fuckin' shoot the damn thing! That'd be cruel to do to something so scared, and adorable for that matter.
"You.." I paused, trying to think about how to continue this. "You were the one that made that.. wave thing, and that popping sound, right?" I asked, still pointing my rifle at it. Better safe than sorry.
I could see it hesitantly nod from under its wings.
"And you're.. intelligent?"
It seemed to be a little confused at my question, but hesitantly nodded again. So, now I'm dealing with a purple-horn-winged-pony thing that is intelligent and can speak. I must've had some smoke-leaf or something, because this is completely fucking ridiculous. I continued to stare at the pony, thinking of my next question before I noticed it was shivering. I suppose I forgot just how cold it was due to the adrenaline, and all of the clothing on me. This thing was basically nude.
I don't know what made me do this, but I lowered my rifle, and knelt down to it. "You cold?" I asked.
It hesitantly, once again, nodded.
I stood up, looking back over to my house, before returning my gaze upon it. "My house is right there, it's much warmer in there." I said, already beginning to walk towards my house without a second thought. Though I didn't see the pony following. I turned around, looking at it.
"You coming?" I asked, to which it seemed to hesitantly lower its wings and nod, slowly walking with trembling legs over to me. I continued trudging through the thick snow to my house, making it to the front door and opening it. God dammit! That wave-thing that shut down my turrets, also shut down my lamp, my generator, and my batteries in storage. I was sure they would come back on soon enough, but it was annoying having to walk through a dark house.
I turned to look at the pony behind me, seeing it paused right in front of my door. I gestured for it to come in, to which it did slowly. I shut the door behind it, which seemed to cause it to flinch a little. I couldn't really blame it, I would be a little scared too.
I turned to it. "You won't kill me in my sleep, will you?" I asked, to which it gave me a confused look and shook its head. It seemed like it didn't want to speak a whole lot, probably too scared to get a sentence out without it falling into a stuttering mess. I shrugged at the answer and headed over to my bed, setting my rifle against the end-table and sitting on my bed.
"Whatever you did with that.. wave.. seems to have shut my place down for a bit. No more heat, or light for the next couple of hours. You can take this-" I picked up my blanket and tossed it over to the pony. "-it's better than sleeping without anything."
I didn't even wait for a response from the pony, as I instantly collapsed into my bed. My lack of sleep had probably made me hallucinate all of this, and I'm probably going crazy. If I hadn't been so damn tired, I most probably would've kicked the damn thing to the dirt and went to bed, but something about it caused me to do otherwise.
I've done a lot of horrible shit since I landed on this planet, but I wouldn't kill a shivering, adorable pony-thing. Even if it was a hallucination. I'm not a monster.
I could feel my body tense up as I awoke to the sound of something walking around in the same room as me. I immediately reached for my rifle, grabbing it and aiming at whatever it was that was in my house, only to realize that I had brought in that pony from the day before. It stared back at me as I aimed the rifle, the look on its face confused, yet still scared. I gave a loud sigh, setting my rifle back against the end table, and shaking my head.
"Sorry." I apologized. "I forgot you were here."
It didn't respond to my words, only returning back to the far corner from me, where the blanket I had given it laid. It seems it used that as its little sleeping spot. It laid there, staring at me, a curious yet cautious look on its face. With my lights back on, I could finally get a good look at what it looked like.
It was purple, as mentioned before. It's hair was a dark blue, with a magenta streak going through it, same with its tail. The most peculiar thing, other than the color, was its horn and wings. I've seen plenty of strange creatures since I landed here, but this would have to take the cake for being the most interesting looking creature I've encountered so far. It did look feminine, atleast from my understanding, so I assume it's a female.
She stared back at me, as if describing me in her own head, as I did to her in mine.
I didn't really know what to do. I mean, should I talk to it? That seemed like the logical thing to do, as it could understand me, but what the hell do I talk to it about? What do I ask? What do I say? I mean, how the fuck do you even begin talking to a purple pony that's capable of actual intelligent thought, and can speak back?
My thoughts were interrupted as I could feel my stomach grumble. Well, I suppose I could start simple.
"Are you.. uhh, hungry?" I asked, standing up slowly as to not frighten her. She nodded her head lightly, her hesitation from yesterday still there but not as obvious. I nodded to her and began to move through the kitchen and to the freezer. I grabbed two little packages of meat, along with a small package of potatoes. Cooked meat with some potato slices seemed easy enough. I made my way back into the kitchen, heating up the cooking stove and putting both packages of meat onto the pan. While it began to brown, I turned my attention to the potato.
I set it on a small cutting board and began to skin it with my knife. I did it slowly, as I used to do it fast and I would often get cut. I don't think getting blood in the food of a guest would be a good way to introduce myself, even if its an.. animal. Once I got the skin cut, I began to cut it into slices, and once I was done I let it sit on the cutting board. I turned my attention over to the meat, which was browning. I used a wooden spoon to cut it into manageable pieces.
You know, I used to have an electric stove my first year here. I managed to get it all set up and ready to go but the damn thing took too long to get hot. I'm an impatient bastard, so I opted for a traditional stove, fueled by wood. It heated up much faster, and didn't take so long to cook. On the RIm, time is of the essence.
As the meat was browned decently, I put the slices of potato in. I'm not a chef, but if it was edible I was fine with it. Even if it tastes like trash, a little bit of salt and pepper made sure to cover it up a little. I'd also rather have my food burnt than underdone. Food poisoning is not fun.
I assume the smell, or the sound of sizzling meat had caught her attention, because she walked right up to the entrance of the kitchen and sat there, eyeing me the entire rest of the way. She didn't look exactly.. happy. Though, most people here don't look happy to begin with, so who knows. I made sure that the potato's were decently cooked, and the meat was good to go before pouring half onto a tray, and the rest onto another tray.
Food was ready to be served.
I picked both trays up and headed for the main room. As I stepped closer, she seeped all the way back over to her corner. I laid the tray in front of her before walking over to my own little table and taking a seat, digging into the meat and potato's eagerly. Breakfast, lunch and dinner were my favorite times of the day usually, as they gave me time to think, and that's exactly what I did.
Why wasn't I freaking out about this? I mean, sure, I've seen some crazy things here on the planet but, nothing like this. I feel like I should be freaking out and kicking the thing out of my house, but I just.. didn't. I was confused with my own actions, but I didn't dwell on it.
I glanced over at her and, she hadn't even touched the meat. She ate up the potatoes, but the meat was just sitting there. She eye'd the meat with a look of slight disgust, and intrigue. It was like if she was debating whether or not she should try it, having a moral debate. Perhaps she was vegetarian? I had never really thought about that..
However, she bent her head down and closed her eyes tightly, taking in the tiniest bit of meat into her mouth. She seemed scared, but not even a second later, her eyes opened wide in shock. She stared at the meat, her mouth open. A second later and she was happily eating the meat up, devouring it pretty damn quickly. I was a little proud of myself in that moment, oddly enough. I guess I cooked it decently enough that she liked it.
Way to go, Rex.
After she was done, she wiped her mouth and looked over at me, noticing that I was staring at her nearly that entire time. She seemed to shrink as she met my gaze, and gave a light giggle.
"S..Sorry.."
There it goes again. I think that's the third word it's actually spoken so far, and two of those words were sorry.
"Sorry for what?" I asked.
She gave a light cough before pointing at the tray. "I-I.."
Ah, I get it now. She was sorry for acting, what, unladylike or something? Did she think she offended me with how fast she ate? I waved a hand at her, stopping her from trying to continue talking. "Don't be sorry for something like that. We all gotta' eat." I flashed a smile at her before standing up, my tray in my hand. I walked over to her and picked her own tray up, and disappeared into the kitchen.
I set the two trays in the sink, cleaning them off with as little water as I could get away with. With the trays sufficiently cleaned, I set them on top of the others, and walked back into the main room. I headed right over to my bed, and took a seat, lifting my leg up and setting it across the other. I guess I should start talking to her now, understand a little bit about her. That's what normal people do, right?
"So.." I started. "What exactly.. are you? I've never seen something like you before, and definitely have never seen something like you talk."
She tilted her head in question. "I'm.. a pony. You don't.. know about ponies?" She questioned.
I shrugged. "I know about 'em. I just never seen something like you. Y'know, the wings, horn, and the purple."
She didn't answer back, simply staring at me once again. She did that a lot, though I couldn't blame her. I stared at her quite a lot too. Call it payback, I suppose. "You got a name?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.
She nodded. "Twilight Sparkle."
What in the.. Twilight Sparkle? Really? I mean, the name oddly fits her, but still, it's one hell of a creative name. Atleast her last name wasn't named after a fucking plant. "I'm Rex. I'm sorry if I'm a little.. confused, or odd, i'm just not used to having company. And, especially, that of a talking pony."
"Do ponies here not.. talk?"
I shook my head. "If they can, they obviously never have."
"..oh."
...
God, that silence really likes to take the room hostage, doesn't it? "So.. How'd you end up on my front lawn?" I asked with a light chuckle, trying to get rid of the awkward silence and tension. It seemed to work, as Twilight gave her own little chuckle, though it seemed one of nervousness.
"I uh.. Don't know. I tried to do a long-range teleportation spell and ended up here.."
"You tried to do what?" I asked. A long-range teleportation spell? First off, teleportation is impossible as far as I know, and second, spells? This isn't some medieval fairy-tale where magic and potions and shit like that exists. That's all fake.. Right?
"A long-range teleportation spell. I guess I messed it up and.. ended up here. Where exactly.. am I?"
I gave a light laugh. "I'd love to know that too. I couldn't tell you what the world here is really called. I crash-landed her around.. two years ago? Yeah, two years ago. Most people on the planet simply refer to the world as a Rimworld, or the Rim."
"You.. crash landed here?"
"Yep." I replied. "I worked as a bartender on a trade-ship, and next thing I know red lights start flashing around everywhere and I get shoved into an escape pod and flushed out into space. Minutes later, i'm on this shithole of a planet." I tried to sum up the events, as I didn't like to dwell on it. Each time I think about what I had on that ship, and what my life used to be like, I just feel hurt. I went from being a bartender with a decent living, to a man with a rifle, fighting to survive. Quite the change, huh?
She looked like she wanted to question me further on the matter, but didn't. Instead, she frowned. "I'm sorry to hear that. I guess we are both stranded."
"You sayin' you aren't from this world?"
She nodded. "I guess the teleportation spell wasn't exactly just long range.."
Ah, well this is great. I got to meet a pony-alien thing. "So.. You believe in magic, or something?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"
I shrugged. "No reason, just that magic doesn't exist."
There was a long pause as her mouth hung open, trying to process exactly what I just said. She looked like she was slightly offended at my words. Maybe I insulted her belief? I didn't really mean to, but it's just fact, magic does not exist. Anyone who would think otherwise is a little crazy.
Though, all of my thoughts came crashing down as she lifted the blanket with a purple aura, flashing me a smirk. "So, how would you explain this?"
I swear, i'm actually going insane. Perhaps this is all just some fever dream that i'm living in while I bleed out. I didn't know how to respond, seeing as the blanket was basically floating in air without the help of anything except that weird purple glow emanating off it. It had to have been some sort of technology, right? I mean, magic doesn't exist.. How could it exist?
"How.. are you doing that?" I asked slowly, still trying to comprehend what was going on in front of me.
"I'm an alicorn.. I have a horn, see?" Twilight tapped her horn with her hoof, giving me a little smile. She seemed to be enjoying my stunned reaction.
"That.. doesn't explain anything to me."
She let the blanket fall to the floor, grabbing it with her hoof and spreading it out onto the floor. "If you say magic does not exist, it most likely doesn't. Atleast, on this world. It very much does on mine." I still stared at her, stunned. I was going to try to offer a counter argument, but I couldn't find anything to say that would counter it. If it was technology, what would it be? And how would I be able to prove that it was tech? Could tech even do that?
I shook my head, trying to keep calm. "Well.. If you teleported here with magic, why don't you just.. use it to teleport back?"
She shook her head. "I tried when you.. found me. Each time I did, my magic would fizzle out and it would emit a big purple wave."
Ah, so that's what that was.
"You don't have any magic that could help you get back home, or somethin'?"
She shook her head. "Every spell I tried didn't work. I even did a scanning spell, which would give me my location, but all it came back with was nothing. So, I assumed I was no longer on Equus."
"And you aren't freaking out?"
She gave a slight frown. "I.. was. Especially when I saw you. You're kind of.. uh.. Intimidating."
"Doubtful." I replied.
"However," She continued. "I know that once they notice i'm missing, they'll definitely send somepony out to come get me. That's why i'm much more calm!"
I couldn't tell if she was lying, but it sure sounded like a lie. I could understand how she felt though. I went through the same stages when I landed here. I freaked out for a little bit, and then came up with the great idea that 'somebody will come get me or send a rescue ship to help me.' Two years later, still no ship. That hopeful dream died a long while ago. When she mentioned that same exact phrase, I could hear that she wasn't believing her own words.
I know she doesn't know a lot about the world, but the coincidence of meeting me instead of some crazy tribals is pretty crazy. Not saying that i'm better than everyone else, just the fact that there are so many people that would skin her and eat her without a second thought. Yet, she came into contact with me. If I had someone to stay with for my first few nights, I would've been better off way earlier in my stay here on the Rim.
Yet, I was all alone. I had to rely on me, myself, and I. It definitely came with its fair share of troubles.
Also, what did I have planned for today? I don't recall planning anything for today, atleast nothing of importance. It was snowing like hell outside, and it's not like I had business being out there. I suppose I could get to cleaning out storage. Or, alternatively, I could simply talk with this somewhat adorable purple pony alien in my house. I mean, as much as I wouldn't admit out loud that I was enjoying the company of her already, I definitely was.
So, that's what I decided to do. To spend the entire day talking to this pony. I'll call it a day off.
We had spent the entire day talking, and it was.. actually fun and interesting.
I learned a lot about where she came from. Even though a lot of it was hard to believe, mainly because I still can't believe magic even exists, but whatever. She came from a world called Equus, filled with ponies just like her. There are multiple races. Unicorns, Pegasus, Earth, and Alicorns, which is what she is. A combination of all of them. Apparently there were only a handful that are like her, so she's a rare kind.
Explaining the Rim to her was.. more of a problem than I anticipated however.
She didn't believe a lot of the things I told her. Not in the way as of 'I think your lying' but more like 'I cant believe thats true.' Her world, as she had explained, was peaceful and was built off of 'friendship' and love or whatever. However, the Rim was almost the opposite. There were friendly faces of course, but they were outweighed by the unfriendly faces. Death is normal here, and most have to kill to survive. Most things are solved with bullets instead of words.
She had asked if I had ever killed someone, which I replied truthfully. The answer was yes. Multiple times. I never went out of my way to kill anyone, but if you're shooting at me you're considered dead to me. I was expecting her to be scared of the fact I killed someone, but she instead apologized. She said something along the lines of 'sorry for what you went through.' I said she didn't need to apologize for something that wasn't even her problem, but I can't deny the fact that it felt good to have somebody give some compassion to me. Even if it's a pony.
The day went by faster than I imagined, and before I knew it we were going to bed. This time, I gave her my pillows and an extra blanket. I wasn't going to use it, as I already had a parka and all the other clothing on me which kept me warm. I also wanted to show her that I wasn't evil, just in case she ever had that thought in her head. After explaining to somebody that the world you live on is filled with murderous people who don't care about life, they tend to bunch you in with that society.
She didn't seem to do that, but still. She enjoyed the extra luxury of the pillows and extra blanket.
She snuggled into the blankets and laid on the pillows while she slept. She was undoubtedly adorable. Was that weird to say? I mean, she is clearly the most adorable thing on the planet at the moment, but it might just be me finally enjoying some company. God, it seems like I've fallen from grace. I used to be a sociable bartender, and now I forget how social situations work.
The night passed quickly, and the day was finally upon us.
I awoke as I usually do. Which, is groggily. I usually am that way until I take a good few steps, or shake my head awake. Yet, I was actually looking forward to getting up. Usually, I hated it. It meant work, it meant having to deal with raiders, it meant dealing with bullshit that I really, really didn't want to deal with. However, now I was waking up to talk to a purple pony. And, that alone, urged me to get up more than anything else in the world did.
I sat up from my bed, shaking myself awake as I scanned the room. I saw Twilight, curled up in her blanket and pillows over in the far corner once again. This time, instead of a look of uncertainty and fear, she had a small smile on her face. I smiled at seeing that, a little happy that she wasn't hating her stay. I got up onto my feet, and quietly made my way to the kitchen, ready to cook breakfast once again.
The other day, I asked her why she was scared to try the meat. As I feared, she was vegetarian. I mean, she is basically a horse, so that made sense. However, she quickly swatted my fears away as she said that the meat was just so.. delicious. I guess I converted her over, huh? She explained that most ponies in her world frowned upon meat consumption, and if you were to even try it you were an outcast. Yet her first taste of it, and she was in love with it.
I began to cook breakfast as I usually did. Went to grab the meat from the walk-in freezer along with some potatoes, and setting them to cook. The sizzling and smell must've woke Twilight up, because she did exactly as she did the day before, and watched me from the doorway. Her eyes were wide, a smile on her face. She definitely couldn't wait to get another taste of glorious meat, even if cooked by a less than mediocre chef.
I poured the food onto the trays teasingly slow, watching her eyes slowly follow the food as it was laid out onto the tray. I chuckled, which seemed to snap her out of her gaze. She had a slight blush as she left to go curl up in her corner, to which I followed her out and set the tray in front of her. I sat at my small table, and began to eat, though watching her while I did so.
Watching her magic work the way it did seriously boggled my mind. I mean, it was just.. floating. Funnily enough, it wasn't the strangest thing I've seen on the Rim, but it definitely was up there. While I was staring, she glanced over at me and gave a smile.
"You like to do that a lot." She said.
I chuckled. "You're one to talk."
We both laughed lightly while we continued to eat. A minute or so later Twilight was already finished, so she laid comfortably on the pillows and stared up to me. "What are you doing today?"
I shrugged, finishing off a small piece of meat in my mouth. "I think hunting. It's not that I need more meat, but more or less that I need more leather. I could make you your own little bed or somethin'." I continued to eat.
She shook her head. "I'm fine with the pillows and blankets. I don't want to trouble you."
"Nonsense!" I said, my mouth full. I covered my mouth with my hand until I finished, giving a nervous smile. "You deserve better than sleeping on the floor. It wont be a hassle, I swear. It'll actually help me practice my woodworking. And, after I make that, I'll most definitely have extra, which can be used for.. Well, whatever."
She gave me a smile. "Thank you."
She was definitely different than us humans. I've noticed that humans usually can't take compliments or someone insisting to do something for them without feeling guilty. While I worked on the ship, I would always compliment people, and they would usually deny it. If I insisted to do something for someone, they kept on denying. I guess us humans are just that prideful.
I finished off my tray, wiping my mouth with the sleeve of my parka as I stood up and headed over to my bed, picking up my rifle. I turned to her. "You want to come with?"
She gave me a nervous look. "I.. I don't know if I can hunt.."
"Why's that?"
She frowned slightly, looking away from me. "I don't know if I can.. kill.. anything."
Ah, I should've expected this. Hailing from a world that is based on peace and friendship and all of that, death and killing are probably extremely taboo. I shrugged. "You don't have to come, but it's sort of a requirement to live in this world. I don't want to make you do anything you won't want to do, but sometimes we don't want to do the things we have to."
I didn't want to make her feel like shit for not wanting to kill something, but if she was going to be here with me for.. however long, she needed to learn the basics of survival. Hunting was one of those basics. I mean, I never wanted to kill another person, but I had to learn and adapt to it. Sometimes, we need to be pushed out of our comfort zones to truly be able to survive.
She looked at me, a slight sadness in her eyes before she closed them and gave a sigh. Shaking her head, she stood up, her eyes now filled with a certain look of determination. "Alright.. Yeah, I'll go with."
"Great. I guess I'll have to teach you how to shoot then. Stay here for a second." I opened the door that led to the storage room, and stepped inside. I know there was a revolver somewhere around here. It wasn't the best thing, but it was viable. After a couple seconds of searching around, I found it. I picked it up, dusting it off with my gloves. I grabbed some bullets as well, and made my way back into the main room.
"Alright- you know those guns I was telling you about?" Twilight nodded. "This is one of 'em. I'm going to show you how this one works. You understand?"
She nodded, though I could tell she was slightly nervous. First things first when it comes to firearms is always etiquette. How to treat it, how to use it properly, and how to be safe with it. I showed her the side of the revolver, and pressed the release button for the cylinder. Pushing the other side with my other hand, the cylinder came out.
"This is how you open the cylinder. This is where the bullets go-" I showed her a single bullet before loading it into one of the cylinder holes. I closed the cylinder, and pulled the hammer of the revolver back. "- and how its ready to fire. Now, you never, never, ever point this at anyone that you don't want to shoot. You keep it aimed at the floor. Even if its not loaded. Okay?"
It took a few more minutes of explaining how the revolver worked, but I think she understood pretty well. I showed her multiple times how to load the revolver, and how to unload it. She got pretty fast, but she was using magic. It allowed her to do multiple actions at once without having the limitations of physical hands.
With that, she loaded all six cylinder-holes with bullets, and was ready to go hunting along with me.
I opened the front door, and began the journey to find something to hunt. It was no longer snowing, yet there was still a lot of snow on the ground. The sun was beaming high in the sky, making the day way warmer than the previous week. Both Twilight and I had traveled for a good fifteen minutes off into an unknown direction until we came into contact with a herd of elk passing by.
There was one at the end of the herd, travelling slower than the rest. It was the prime target.
I looked over to Twilight, who stared back at me nervously. I pointed at the elk, to which she nodded and raised the revolver with her magic. She did exactly as I instructed back at the house. She centered her aim with the elk, taking deep breaths. The shot wasn't exactly easy to hit, given the distance, but I believed luck might be on her side.
She breathed out and squeezed the trigger with her magic, the loud bang from the barrel of the revolver echoing throughout the area. The herd ran off together in a random direction, however the one she was aiming at had fallen onto the snow.
It was a perfect fucking shot.
It wasn't a body shot, it was a clean headshot. I made my way over to it with her, seeing up close just how good of a shot she made. It was right through the side of the head. I knelt down, examining the elk. It was of decent size, and didn't have any bodily injuries except for the obvious gunshot.
I glanced over at Twilight, who looked like she was conflicted with her emotions. She seemed happy that she was able to hit the target first try, especially so clean. Yet, I could tell she was having trouble accepting the fact that she just killed another creature.
"It didn't suffer, Twilight. It was instantaneous. This is the quickest, and least painful way to go out. Be proud, because any lower would've hit the body. And.. that would've been much more painful." This seemed to cheer her up a little, but not by much. I stood up.
"Do you think you could lift that thing with your magic or something?"
Without even a second going by, the corpse was picked up with a magical aura and hovered into the air. God damn I was jealous. I flashed a smile at her and made my way back to the house with her and the elk. It was much easier than dragging a corpse all the way into the house, so that was nice.
Though we weren't stopping at only one elk. There were others still out there, and any more we can pick off will just mean more meat and leather. As soon as we dropped that elk body off into the freezer, we immediately made our way back out into the cold snow once more, searching for those elk that ran away.
They couldn't have run far.
We both laid behind a small mound of snow as we spotted the elk off in the distance. It was a much farther range than before, but with my rifle it wouldn't be too difficult. I propped my rifle against the snow, taking aim at one of the stand-still elks in the distance. I slowed my breath, before giving out a large breath and squeezing the trigger. The shot rang echoed throughout the area, scattering all of the elk into another direction, but the one I was aiming for had dropped.
We both made our way over to the elk, before we noticed something.
It wasn't a clean shot.
The elk laid on the floor, it's breathing erratic. It kept trying to get up but it just couldn't, as the wound caused too much pain. It's head flailed around as it tried to get away from the both of us, obviously terrified. However, I wasn't concerned about the elk as much as I was concerned about Twilight handling this. As mentioned before, she wasn't used to killing anything, and seeing a creature in as much pain and agony as this one, might not be so great for her.
And, as I expected, Twilight had tears in her eyes.
I sighed, shaking my head and pulling a knife from my pocket. I could just shoot it, but that would be a waste of a bullet. I knelt down to the elks level, and used my left hand to keep its head still. I could hear the gasp from behind me as Twilight realized what I was going to do. I didn't hesitate, and plunged the knife right through the neck of the elk. I could feel its breathing slow, and its eyes began to stop frantically searching the area. Within the next minute, it stopped, now completely still.
I used some snow on the ground to wipe the blood off of my knife before slipping it back into my pocket, standing and turning back to Twilight. She obviously did not like what she just saw, but I wasn't going to say sorry. I did what I had to, and I'm not going to feel ashamed for that.
"I tried getting a clean shot, but I obviously missed. This is the next best thing to do." I said as I motioned for her to pick up the elk with her magic. I could tell she was getting cold from being out for a little while, and it was best to get this elk back into the house before some predator could smell the blood.
She hesitated picking it up, but did so a moment later, looking away from me. Was she upset? Or was she simply just sad at the event that just played out in front of her? What the hell would she have done? If I didn't do anything, it would've just bled out in agony.
I'll ask her about it when we're back at the house.
Twilight's POV
Am I really okay with this..?
Rex did it so quickly without hesitation. He was obviously used to doing it, seeming to know where to put the knife in. It was probably the best thing to do in that situation, but why do I feel so.. upset? Not at him, no. More like, i'm mad at the fact that he's forced to do something like that.
We take things for granted in Equestria. We got used to the fact that we don't have to fight for survival, but everything I've heard about this new world I'm on, that exactly what everyone here has to do. They have to kill, they have to struggle to survive because its apart of life here.
I'm upset that its a requirement in order to live here.
I've barely been here for three days now, and it's already hitting me harder than I thought. I'm not so sure that somepony will come and get me. Where would they start to try and find me? Maybe they'll never find me, and I'm stuck on this world until I end up like that elk.
The world can't be all bad though, can it? Perhaps Rex was exaggerating. They way he talked about the violence and the bloodshed on this world was casual, almost like he didn't even care. Even with how nice he acts to me, I can tell that he's definitely got a more violent side to him. Perhaps he wasn't exaggerating, and he's just got used to the violence and bloodshed? Maybe he copes with it by laughing about it.
I'm not sure..
And oh sweet Celestia, I ate meat.. He served it to me not knowing if I liked it or not, and I was so hungry that I just had to eat something.. And that first taste was so delicious.. The fact that it tasted so good frightened me. If anypony saw me they would exile me, for sure.
I have a strange feeling that this place will change me, for better or for worse. I feel lost.
I'm scared.
Twilight's been acting strange since we got back to the house. I had an idea why, but I still wasn't sure. She just sat back into her little corner, looking at the floor with a stern face. She was obviously thinking about things, and I didn't want to disturb her. Instead, while she was busy thinking, I was going to get these elks prepped up. Skinning, cutting their meat up, that sort of thing.
She didn't come to watch, for obvious reasons. Killing the creature was one thing, but watching it get skinned and all of that definitely would disturb anyone. It definitely disturbed me when I had to do it for my first time.
It took a little while to do all of that, but once I was done, the meat was all prepped up in their packages, and the leather that was left behind was put into storage. I would get working on a small bed sometime later, instead I wanted to chill out for a little while. I sat on my bed, looking around the room. It sure could use some decoration. Oh, what about a potted plant? That might be great. It'd give me a little something to do every once in awhile. Water it, take care of it, it'll be like a little kid, except you don't have to pay attention to it every five seconds.
Twilight, as stated before, was still in her corner, staring at the floor. Her wings would move slightly ever so often, and she would move around a little to get more comfy in her spot on top of the pillows. She certainly was in deep thought, though about what I couldn't tell.
Some of it had to have dealt with the elk from earlier. That I knew, but that alone couldn't have caused her this much stress, could it? I suppose it could actually, since she hasn't ever done anything like that. A lot of people I used to know, including myself, said that we could all hunt and kill animals if we had to, but actually doing it is a different story. First time I killed a rabbit, I felt so depressed for a day or two.
Why do they have to look so cute, but taste so good?
That was life on the RIm though. You've gotta' do things you aren't proud of, and things you never thought you'd ever be able to do before. Like, learning how to shoot. I remember that very well. Now i'm quite decent at it, but before I was complete dogshit. I would squeeze the trigger and the rifle would jump up out of my hands. I learned really quick to actually hold tight onto the damn thing.
"Rex?"
My eyes which were dancing across the room fell onto Twilight, who looked at me with her large eyes. She seemed anxious.
"Yeah?" I asked.
She shifted upon the pillows, tilting her head slightly. "Do you.. think somepony will come for me?"
I sighed. Of course this was what she was thinking about. I had the same thought when I landed. I didn't want to upset her, or to make her sad, but she wanted my honest opinion, right? She might be some magical being from another world, but as far as I knew, she was in the same boat I was.
"I thought somebody would come for me two years ago. Now look at me." I said with a nervous chuckle. "I can't tell you that the answer is no, but.. don't bank your hope on it."
I could see her shift on the pillows more after I said that. She obviously didn't like the answer, but she asked. She nodded her head, giving a light sigh. "Alright.. Thank you."
I shook my head. I didn't like seeing her upset. I scooted over on my bed and patted the side next to me. "Come sit."
She stared at me before looking at the spot I was patting with my hand, before standing up slowly and walking over to the bed. With a little jump, she made it on top of the bed and sat next to me, staring out at the front door.
"I know it doesn't mean a whole lot, but I'll be here for you as long as your around. Whether that means until somebody comes to pick you up, or if you're here for good. Either way, you got a friend in me." Her ears perked up and she looked at me, a slight smile on her face now.
"That's good to know." She stared back at the door once again.
I don't know what caused me to do this, but I rested my hand on top of her head and began to scratch between her ears, like you would do to a dog. She seemed to instantly freeze at my touch, and I immediately backed my hand away from her. Personal space was a thing, Rex. Did you forget since you've been out here for two years?
"Sorry." I said, before she gave a light chuckle.
"Don't worry.. I just wasn't expecting it." Her tone of voice was sweet and calm, much more different than anyone I've met on the planet. It was a nice change, to have someone kind to you.
"Does that mean I can continue?"
She smirked and turned to look at me. "Do you want to continue?"
Instead of responding, I put my hand back on her head and began scratching behind her ears once again. She stared back at the door, though she gave out a light hum as I continued to scratch. She seemed to be enjoying the head-massage, and oddly enough, I was enjoying doing it.
She's much happier now than she was a couple hours ago.
Life has been considerably more different with Twilight around.
It's been a week since I found her on my front lawn in the snow. I've gotta say, she's been a nice change. It's nice to talk to someone. Plus, it's always nice when I can have extra help on anything I need to do. Things like cutting down tree's for wood, or even mining components in the nearby caves has been much easier and quicker with her by my side. Her magic is truly a gift, and it kind of makes me jealous.
She doesn't go hunting with me. After the incident with the elk, I decided she wouldn't want to come with me. She actually argued against that, saying she 'had to learn' but I know she was just trying to help. I declined her offers. She can offer help in other ways. Also, since she's here, I've had to go hunting a lot more. Food supply was perfect with just me, but adding a little purple pony on top of that makes my food situation go a little.. whack.
It's nothing that can't be solved without a few extra hunting trips ever so often. And, even if we do run out of meat and frozen veggies, there's always that pemmican laying in storage. I'd prefer not having to resort to that though, that's more reserved for summertime and when I have absolutely no food.
Also, I finally got that bed for Twilight. She kept thanking me as if I saved her life or something, praising the design. It was a simple frame, had some blankets and some pillows, so it wasn't anything special. Still, she thanked me continuously. It was nice to see her face light up when I was finished, and she's been enjoying that bed ever since I built it. It's considerably smaller than my own bed, but she is considerably smaller than me.
Life has been well. No raids, no hiccups with anything, mostly just smooth sailing. It scared the shit out of me. Nothing goes swell for too long on the Rim, that was for sure. Something was going to happen and I couldn't tell when it was going to. It left be scared, but it wasn't nothing that couldn't be distracted from with the help of a purple pony. She's been a major help in boosting my mood. I feel myself getting up and looking forward to talking to her throughout the day. It might just be the fact that I haven't had much social interaction in awhile, other than traders and visitors. I didn't really care why though, I was just happy to talk to her.
From my estimate, there's probably only one more week, or a week and a half left of winter. It didn't last long, but if you weren't prepared it could wreck your shit. It would start to warm up in the next coming week, though that didn't mean it got comfortably warm. It would still be cold for the next two or three weeks, just that the snowing would stop.
I awoke from my sleepy thoughts, hearing the front door shut. My eyes shot open to see who it was, and it was simply Twilight. I shook my head, laying my head back down onto the pillow with a sigh. I've really got to get used to having someone else here with me, because everytime I hear any movement in the morning my first thought is 'oh, someone broke in.'
"Why were you out..?" I asked groggily, not lifting my head up to look at her.
"We left those 'components' back at that little cave, remember? I decided to go and pick them up before you woke up. You know, save time and all that."
"You're too nice." I said with a chuckle.
"I don't think that's even possible." Twilight said with a giggle, opening the door to the storage room and putting the components inside before walking over to her bed and jumping up on it. I put her bed in the far corner where she laid on the floor, since she chose that spot herself when she first stayed here.
I turned over onto my side, now being able to look at her from where I laid. She looked at me with a smile, resting her chin on top of a pillow as she stared back.
"So.. what do you have planned for today?" Twilight asked curiously. I gave a small shrug.
"Honestly, no idea. I've got plans to make the house bigger, but that'll have to wait until the snow melts. I am not building in snow, fuck that. It'll just be slow as hell and annoying to deal with. Ooh- I have an idea." I said, sitting up from my bed. I looked over to the storage room and back to Twilight. "I could build those hydroponic basins before spring hits. Then, i'll just be able to put them down and let them run, instead of waiting."
"Hydroponics? Artificial Growing?"
"Yep." I nodded. "If I get that going, we'll be able to grow crops during the winter. Then we'll have a much better selection of food than just simple meat and potatoes every day."
"That would be nice." Twilight said, hearing her own stomach growl. "Speaking of food, you making breakfast?"
"On it." I said while standing up, feeling woozy for the first few steps before making my way over to the kitchen. It was time to make the daily special! Meat with potato slices. Except, it was the daily special every day. Twilight didn't seem to say anything against it, but I knew she wouldn't mind a bigger selection than these two simple ingredients. And, to be honest, I wouldn't mind either.
I poured the food onto the trays and set one on her bed while I sat at my little table. I offered to make her a chair but she said she preferred to eat on the bed. It was more comfortable for her. I turned the chair sideways, half pointed at the table and half pointed in her direction.
We both began to eat.
"When we get tomatoes, I'm definitely making you salsa."
Twilight's POV
It's been better here than I imagined.
With Rex explaining to me days ago about how the world was here, I was expecting to be attacked left and right, but it's just been snowy. We've been doing a lot of small tasks, like mining and stuff. Never thought I'd be doing that, but it's better than killing something, right?
I've been hiding it as best as I can from Rex, and I don't think he's noticed. I'm extremely homesick.
I miss the girls, I miss the comfortable castle I lived in, I miss being able to cast any spell I wanted to without it fizzing out. I miss eating my favorite foods, not that I mind eating Rex's food, but it's just.. I miss life back in Equestria already.
Is this what Rex felt when he crashlanded here?
I'm lucky to have him on my side, and to have him as a good friend that's willing to help me. I couldn't imagine what he must have gone through his first few weeks. No house, nothing to protect himself with, and nopony to talk to. That would be utterly terrifying. He doesn't talk about the first few weeks he spent here, nor does he like to talk about what life was like before he crashlanded much. All I know is that he was a bartender and that he was on a ship, or something, in space.
I don't push it. I'm sure talking about his old life only reminds him of what he's lost.
I can see that the world has left its scars on him, both mentally and physically. His arms are dotted in multiple scratches underneath that parka he always wears, and one time he lifted up his shirt enough for me to see what looked like a burn scar. I questioned them but he quickly shut me down on it, simply saying that 'its just life.'
Rex is a strange individual, that is for sure.
After we were both done eating, he disappeared off into the storage room, saying that he was going to work on those hydroponic basins he talked about. I don't know if he knows how to build them, but he seem pretty determined to build one no matter how hard it might be.
I didn't like the idea of sitting in my own thoughts doing nothing, so I peered my head into the storage room.
"Rex?" I asked.
"Yeah?" Came his voice from the far corner of the storage room. He was sitting on a little stool in front of a large table, all sorts of diagrams and paper were strewn across it. He didn't lift his head up to look at me, as he was obviously deep in concentration.
"I'm going to get the rest of those components in that cave, okay?" I didn't really want to do it, but it was better than sitting and doing nothing.
"Alright. You know what to take." He said, to which I nodded and levitated the 'revolver' over to myself, along with a pickaxe. Rex said he was going to make me some clothing that would protect me from the cold, but the cave I was going to was insulated enough to keep me warm, so I didn't need anything to wear. With the tools in my aura, and a destination to head to, I left the house.
The flakes were still falling, but not in abundance.
The journey to the cave wasn't exciting. Just trudging through cold snow, and silence other than the crunch beneath my hooves as I walked. I eventually made it inside the cave, to which I faced the wall where these 'components' were located. According to Rex, these things were needed to build a lot of the stuff he needed, so they were crucial items. They were almost like an ore in the wall, simply being a dark brown yellowish color.
I sighed and began to work. I kept the revolver levitating while I used the pickaxe to chip slowly at the components, each hit giving a quiet pinging noise. The sound was almost hypnotic, and instead of distracting me and numbing me from my thoughts, this tedious and repetitive job only served as background noise for my thoughts to hover on top of.
My first thoughts were about what was going on in Equestria without me. They must have noticed I'm missing by now, and have sent somepony to come get me, or atleast find a way to figure out where I went. I don't know how they would go about finding out where I am, but I had faith, even if I didn't believe it fully.
What were my friends doing? Do they really care that I'm missing?
What am I thinking- of course they care! They'd be the first ones to spearhead the little operation to find me, that is for sure. I know that Spike is probably freaking out right now, which hurts my heart a little bit. The little drake, no matter how much he insists he has grown, has always been fearful when it came to me getting hurt or anything of that sort.
Gosh, I am such an idiot! How come I thought doing a long-range teleportation spell, without proper safety procedures, and without a backup plan in case things go wrong? I just did it without thinking.
I guess things have just always.. fixed themselves when they go wrong in my life, so I guess I didn't fear the consequences that much. But now that I'm here, I'm realizing that these consequences might never be fixed. I could be stuck here, on an unknown world, living a life of hardship until I die.
That is definitely not what I want.
While I was thinking, I had already chipped away a decent portion of the components. I must've been lost in thought for quite awhile, since mining these darn things took quite awhile, and I definitely wasn't skilled at doing it. I was about to scoop up the little bits of components with my magic before I heard something crawl from the deeper part of the cave.
I froze, staring at the darkness.
That was my cue to leave, and I did just that. With the components in my magic, I left the cave in a hurry, heading all the way back to the house. Whatever was in that cave, I didn't want to know what it was, what it looked like, or if it was friendly or not. Rex told me about this world, and I would very much rather not take my chances, especially with something I cant see.
Maybe Rex can go see what it is later on.
Hydroponic research is probably the most boring thing I have ever attempted. I mean, I got the basics of it down, but the actual construction of it is probably the hardest part. I've got one basin made, but it's not even really a functional basin. It's a test basically, to see what it might look like and how it'd work.
I sighed, scratching the back of my head. This damn thing is confusing.
I could hear the front door open. Twilight must be back. She's been out there for quite awhile, I was beginning to actually get a little worried. Though, with that 'magic' of hers, she's better off than most people out here already. I stood from my little workshop and made my way out of the storage room.
"Run into any trouble out there?" I asked as she made her way past me, setting some components, and the pickaxe inside the storage room before making her way back out into the main room. She shook her head.
"Nope. Nothing out there but snow, as far as I could tell. Though, there was some weird sounds coming from the cave?"
"What kind of sounds?" I asked curiously.
Twilight shrugged as she jumped onto her little bed, covering herself with a blanket. "Crawling, or slithering. Something like that. I couldn't see anything because it was further into the cave, and there was no light."
I shivered as she spoke. It might just be my fears getting to me, and it could be nothing in the cave. Yet, I've had run ins with insectoid hives before. They spring up out of nowhere. They aren't there and one day later they are. I fucking hate bugs to begin with, and the world decides to make them huge and with razor sharp claws?
I waved my hand dismissively at her as I sat on my own bed across from her. "I don't think it's anything to worry about. I'll go check it out later. No going there anymore until then, okay?" Twilight nodded her head before shivering slightly. "You cold?"
"A little. My fur usually keeps me warm, but walking through that thick snow got to me a little."
"I've gotta make you somethin' to keep you warm. I just don't know how to design it exactly.."
"Don't worry about it too much." Twilight said with a soft smile. "I'll be fine for awhile. Besides, didn't you say winter was coming to an end soon?"
"Eh, yeah. But the world might just decide 'hey, lets keep snowing' or some bullshit. Never bank your hope on things going your way, that's what I've learned."
Twilight's smile turned into a slight frown. "I guess it is better to think that way."
"Don't worry, no matter what happens, we'll be ready to take it on, hm?" I said with a smile, trying to get her spirits up. It worked as she returned a smile to me. I couldn't dare let the Rim take this cute little thing and destroy its hopes and dreams. It did that too many times to too many people. I know I can't protect her from everything in the world, but I want to protect her innocence as best I can.
I lost my innocence, maybe I can preserve hers?
It was unlikely. Once you get in your first gunfight, or any fight for that matter, it really changes you. And, if you lived on the Rim, you were likely to get into a fight pretty soon. Whether you wanted it or not, somebody was out to get you. Whether they had a reason, or not.
"Hey, do you think you could help me with some research I've been doing?" I asked, to which her ears perked up instantly. She stared at me, an even brighter smile than before now across her face.
"What kind of research?"
"Hydroponics." I said. "Artificial growing. I've got the basins worked out.. kind of. I'm not exactly the smartest when it comes to research, and I'm using old blueprints I bought off some traders a long while ago. I can build things, but I'm not smart when it comes to.. well.. research."
"Of course i'll help!" She exclaimed, hopping off her little bed. I knew it would interest her, as she always seemed the type to experiments and all of that. I mean, that's what she told me.
"Good. Though, you do understand that things here don't have magic, right? We need something that works based off of.. physicality, instead of magic."
Twilight nodded. "Of course I can do that. Do you want me to start now? Can I start now? Where is i-" I pointed to the storage room where she quickly disappeared into. She was ready, wasn't she? Researching suit her better than mining or chopping wood. That should be left to the handyman, or me in this instance. If she can figure out how to make those basins work properly, she can start on other stuff.
I got blueprints for a 'nutrient paste dispenser,' but from the notes that the previous owner of said blueprints left behind, I don't think I want to know what it tastes like. According to the notes, it tastes like 'liquefied snot.' Absolutely disgusting. Besides, who the fuck wants to eat green goopy paste in the morning? That's quite a shit way to start the day off with.
With Twilight now researching in the storage room, I guess I could get to making some clothes for the little purple thing. For some reason, I put the tailor bench in the kitchen. I guess my thought process was 'after I'm done skinning, I can make clothes or something with it afterwards' but all it did was get dirty. I'll move it sometime later.
I quickly retrieved some bluefur from storage, trying not to disturb Twilight. She looked like she was hard at work, writing many things with the little pencil I had. I'll leave her to it. I made my way over to the tailor bench with the fur in hand, and began to work on.. something.
It would've been easier to make it if I measured her, but fuck it, I winged it. It's what I do all day everyday anyways.
It took a couple of hours. Twilight hadn't left the storage room the entire time, probably consumed in her research. I, however, had a prototype of a pony parka thing. It had a hood for her head, and two sleeves where her little legs could go through. It wouldn't cover the entire body though, only past the wings a little. Speaking of the wings, I made some slits for them to pop through.
It might not be perfect, but I'm pretty sure I'm the only person on this damn planet that has made clothes for a pony. Call me an inventor.
I wanted to show Twilight, but I knew she was still hard at work. I'll hide it for now and surprise her with it later. I headed over to my bed and lifted the covers up, sliding the little parka-hoodie underneath. Hopefully she'll like it. I looked around the house for a little bit, a little confused on what to do. I mean, what was there to do? Usually during the summertime there was all sorts of things to do. Building, growing, mining, all that stuff, but with the snow outside it made all of those things hard to do, or impossible.
Twilight mentioned a crawling or slithering sound in the cave nearby, so perhaps I'll check that out?
I grabbed my rifle from the side of my bed and checked my pockets to make sure I had rounds and my knife on me. I was already pretty set, so I peered my head into the storage room to tell Twilight.
"Hey Twi, i'll be out for a bit." I said, and without waiting for a response I was already out the door.
I groaned as I was hit with a wave of cold air. Fuck the snow, seriously. It might be fun if I didn't have to worry about anything, but sadly, I have to worry about everything. I slowly trudged through the snow, passing by the windmills and turrets I had set up. The turrets were completely still and half covered in snow. Thank god they could withstand the weather.
Before I knew it, I was already at the cave.
First thing I did was turn the flashlight that was strapped to my rifle on. I aimed down the dark cave with it, slowly walking. I must admit, I was a little scared. Who knew what might be in here.
As I stepped deeper into the cave, I heard the crawling and slithering sounds that Twilight mentioned. There was definitely something down here, that much was known now. Yet, I still couldn't see anything with my damn flashlight. The cave went down, and deeper. It couldn't have been that deep, could it?
I followed down the little tunnel, the sounds becoming louder and louder with each step I took. Eventually, I took one more step and the sounds went dead silent. Whatever was down here had stopped moving.
Did they hear me?
I aimed my rifle in front of me, preparing myself for anything to come charging at me.
A baby spelopede bug waddled in from the darkness. It was slow, tiny, and was making the same sounds that I was hearing earlier. This little bug was the culprit of my fears.
Really?
I aimed my rifle at it, smirking to myself. Sorry buddy, your time is up. I put my finger on the trigger and was ready to pull back before I heard something deeper in the cave. I backed up instinctively, now aiming my rifle at the darkness. From the right side appeared a large insectoid. It had multiple legs, two big mandibles and two razor sharp claws as arms.
The blueprints that Rex was going off of were decent. They had a basic understanding of how it works, but a lot of the pieces were missing. Plus, they referred to a sun lamp, which I don't see a blueprint anywhere here for. Perhaps Rex has it somewhere here? Or maybe he knows how to build one? Either way, these basins wont work without it. The sun lamp, as the name implies, is an imitation of the sun, and can give light that allows the plants to grow. No ordinary light will work.
I was pretty happy with how much I got done though. I heard the front door open and slam shut, and I was ready to go and tell Rex what my findings were. I hopped off the chair and made my way over to the door, opening it to see Rex... kicking my bed?
No, no.. He was pushing my bed to block the front door, but why?
"Fuckin- Twilight!" He said as he noticed me standing in the doorway. "Get back in there-"
A claw pierced through the door, ripping a small chunk of the door off. I immediately backed up, watching as Rex continued to get the bed in place. He flicked a switch that was right next to the door, narrowly dodging the claw of whatever it was behind the door.
"Holy shit-" He said as he rushed into the storage room with me, pushing me back as he slammed the door shut. I was going to say something, but he instead pushed me into the corner of the room, pointing his 'rifle' at the door. All I could hear other than the breaking of the front door was many loud bangs, and screams of something.. terrifying.
The loud bangs persisted for a minute or two, and I was frozen in fear behind Rex. He kept his 'rifle' aimed steady at the door, his breath was slow. I, on the other hand, was freaking out. I was hyperventilating, my eyes darted from one side of the room to the other, before landing back on the door. I tried to imagine whatever it was that was on the other side of the door, and I didn't like each vision.
More terrifying screams were heard outside as the bangs kept going. It wasn't just a single scream though, it was multiple. Whatever was out there trying to get at us, there was more than one of them. I didn't like that thought, and it was frightening me more than before.
I began to feel woozy and my vision became blurry. I felt my body collapse behind Rex as my vision slowly turned to black.
I had a panic attack, and passed out.
I was a dumb-ass for going into that damn cave. I thought it was insectoids, and I still thought my dinky little piece of shit rifle was going to do something? I only got off a single shot before I ran for it. And, let me tell you, those things are faster than they look. If it weren't for my adrenaline pumping through me, I wouldn't have made it to the house in time. I would've been prime meat for those bugs.
I flipped on the switch before I ran into the storage room, the safest place at the moment. I instinctively pushed Twilight in the corner and got in front of her, aiming my rifle, ready to fire at whatever entered through that door. I was working on instinct, my thoughts were mostly empty.
I could hear the gunfire from the turrets. They were going to town on those damn things. Every couple of gunshots I could hear a scream from one of the bugs. It took a good five minutes before the gunshots died down, and soon enough it was back to being silent.
I glanced behind me to check on Twilight, and she was passed out. She must've feinted.
I turned my gaze back to the door. Either all those insectoids are dead, or they destroyed my turrets somehow. I walked slowly to the storage door, opening it slightly to peer inside the main room. The front door was actually intact for the most part. There were obvious chunks of it missing, but it was still up. From what I could see, there was also nothing in the room. Nothing made it inside.
I kicked the front door open, aiming my rifle in front of me. I could see bodies of insectoids dotted across the snow. A couple of spelopedes, a couple of megaspiders, and a megascarab. I could see my turrets in the distance still moving, so there was no bugs left. Thank god. That would've been way too many for me to deal with alone, even with good firepower. The ugly fucking things can take awhile to put down.
I didn't turn the turrets off quite yet. Leaving them on gave me a sense of.. protection, even if there weren't any left.
My attention turned to Twilight.
Twilight's POV
I've felt plenty of panic attacks before, and I have feinted plenty of times. Yet, none of them felt like this one. I awoke, but my eyes didn't want to open. I could still feel my body trembling slightly, the memories of what happened before I passed out playing through my mind on repeat. It all happened so fast.
There was no warning. No buildup. It just happened.
I could feel that I was wrapped in what felt like a blanket. I was warm and cozy, though that did little to calm my nerves. Did something happen to Rex? Is he okay? Did he get hurt? Who wrapped me up? There were a lot of questions going on in my mind, but I couldn't focus on a single one. I shivered in fear as I continued to think.
Though, the feeling of a hand falling on top of my head snapped me from my thoughts, and my eyes shot open. The sudden light hurt, and I shut my eyes as quickly as I opened them. Instead, now thinking better, I opened my eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light in the room.
Surely enough, it was Rex's hand. He was standing over me, giving me a slight smile. My eyes drifted across his entire body, trying to see if I could spot any wounds, to see if he was at all hurt. I didn't see anything, and he seemed to be just fine. I was still a little scared though, I must admit.
"Hey." Rex said, now getting onto his knee's to get on my level. I was laying on what seemed to be his bed. He rubbed my mane a little, ruffling it slightly. The movement caused a smile to come out of me, but it didn't calm me completely down.
"Wh-... What happened?" I asked, my voice cracking and trembling slightly as I spoke.
Rex smirked. "Nothin' you need to worry about. You just sit there, okay? Everything's fine. The door is a little banged up, but it's nothing I cant fix." His voice was casual, and calming. He seemed to be perfectly fine, even after the events that transpired earlier.
How could he be so calm?
His calm voice soothed me though, and I felt myself calming down as well. I looked up at him as he stood up and headed into the storage room. With being left alone in the room, my few seconds of calm nature disappeared, and I felt my heartbeat rise up. I was alone.
When he appeared back in the room, I calmed down once again. I didn't want to be alone at the moment. The events that transpired were out of a horror book, and I just experienced them first-hoof. He turned to me and gave me a questioning look. "You okay?"
I didn't know how to answer that question. I didn't want to seem weak to him. If I told him that I was scared everytime he left the room, would he consider me a burden and throw me out? It didn't seem to be in his nature, but as I've been told, this world isn't exactly nice. But if I didn't say anything, I would have another panic attack every time he left the room. I nodded my head slowly, opening my mouth and feeling my throat tighten. It was the same feeling I got when I read a tragic novel, that sharp pain in your throat that just wont go away.
"D-Don't leave me alone.."
I could feel myself cringe at my own words. I thought I was stronger than this, but I wasn't. I wanted to be, I desperately wanted to be, but I just wasn't. I was not built for this world.
Though, neither was Rex.
Rex looked at me for a few moments, a neutral expression on his face. I could feel every second that passed by, the stiffness in the air so thick that it could be considered poisonous. Though, all of that seemed to fade away once he smiled at me. He walked forward towards me, kneeling down and putting a hand on top of my head once again.
"Don't worry. I won't."
I could feel myself literally melt at those words. They had weight to them, something that ponies in Equestria rarely had. Weighted words. Words that you could tell were true without needing to question it. Ponies in Equestria were nicer than this world, that was for sure, yet all their words felt..
Fake.
I only felt accepted when I met the girls. I tried making friends for a long time, but it all ended up feeling hollow. The girls had words of weight, and truly cared for me. There weren't many ponies that had that in them. And yet, Rex, a random creature I encountered a week ago, was able to convey that feeling to me quicker than anypony else could.
I knew, right after he said those words, I could truly trust him. I didn't have to worry about being kicked to the curb, I didn't have to worry if I did something wrong and if he would yell at me. He might, but that doesn't mean he won't care for me still. He considered me as a good friend, and I considered him as a good friend as well. And, it's only been a week. That's so...
Strange.
Rex stood up. "Give me a couple of seconds, okay? I'm going to go get wood from storage to fix the door, but i'll be back." I nodded slowly before he disappeared into storage once again. I could feel my heartbeat raise, but not as much as it did before. A couple of seconds later, like he said, he appeared back into the main room and had an axe and some other tools with him.
I simply watched him as he worked, keeping quiet for most of it. I watched him chop little pieces of wood into manageable pieces, and combining other pieces with.. stuff. I didn't really pay attention to exactly what he was doing. No, I was paying attention to him. He was interesting to watch. I could see his expression change with every passing minute, and I could tell when the wheels in his head were turning, thinking about something.
I could tell when he was confused, or conflicted with how he paused and stared at something. I could see his hands work expertly with the tools he had around him, and how his fingers delicately maneuvered certain pieces around. He seemed to know his way around tools.
I also had never taken the time before to really look at him. He was 'human,' as he called himself. He had a slightly tanned white skin tone. He had black hair, thick eyebrows, and a short-stubble beard. He was decently tall, I'd guess around 6'1. Much taller than me. I only was at waist level for him, maybe a little bigger. He had plenty of marks on his face, probably from accidents or other things that have happened to him during his time here. I could spot what seemed to be a big scratch mark on the back of his neck, though unless you were studying him intently, you wouldn't notice it.
"Done." Rex said to himself while he backed up from the door to admire his handiwork. He turned around as he heard me lightly clap my hooves together.
"You did great!" I said with a smile, to which he returned with his own smile.
"Thanks. Now we won't worry about snow seeping in through those damn holes. Also-" He pointed to my bed. "I don't think you'll want to sleep there anymore.. Being so close to the door and all might not help your nerves. You can take mine for the time being."
What? No no no, I was not going to take his bed from him. He was too nice. I would deal with my own bed, even if it was close to the door. "What? No- I'll take my bed."
"No no no-"
"Yes yes yes-"
"Okay okay-" Rex said with a sigh, before turning over to my bed, thinking. "Why.. don't we just move it next to mine? You'll be far from the door, you won't be alone, and if anything happens I'll be close by. How about that?"
That didn't sound like a bad idea. It certainly would help calm my nerves. I nodded, liking the idea much better than simply sleeping right next to the front door. With my confirmation, he dragged my bed over to the other side. He put it right next to the generator, and against the foot of his own bed.
"There." He said. "The generator also proves to be a good thing to huddle up next to if you get cold in the night. Though, with all that fluffy fur, I don't think you'll have much of a problem. Given that we also have the heater running."
I giggled. "Thank you, Rex."
"Anytime." He said.
"Anytime." I said.
I patted her bed lightly with my hand. "Now you can get off my bed."
"But i'm already on here, and it's so warm and comfortable-" She said with a slight giggle. I put my hands on my hips and smirked at her. She's become sarcastic and playful over the few days, and it's quite enjoyable. It's nice to have some normalcy around here, even if it comes from a purple pony.
"Fine, fine. But you'll have to scoot over, because I'm laying down." I said while walking over to her and sitting on top of the bed, suddenly laying down on it and scooting her over. She gave a quiet 'eep' as she was moved to the side, before she laid her back on top of me. I chuckled. "Really?"
"Yes, really."
"Alright then." I said with another chuckle. The crash of that adrenaline rush was hitting me now. Every time, it always hits like a fucking truck. I could feel my body become a little sore with every passing minute, and I slowly got more and more tired. It wasn't even late yet, but my body didn't care. It demanded sleep, and who was I to refuse it?
"Hey," I said. "I'm gonna' sleep. That whole situation has.. gotten me tired. If you need me for anything, wake me up, okay?" I said, turning my head over to look at her. She looked back at me and, with a smile, nodded. I gave a relieved sigh as I relaxed into the bed.
I felt like I was falling, and as I closed my eyes, I felt like I was spiraling. It wasn't scary, but more like a soothing feeling. Like falling eternally through the clouds. As odd as that sounds, it was a relaxing feeling, and I my thoughts began to melt into a big goop.
Of all the ways the day could have gone, I think this was the best possible outcome.
The snow has melted for the most part, and it's beginning to get warm out finally. Rex seemed quite happy about it, and he was able to take some clothes off. He still kept the parka on, but the gloves and other things were taken off. He also seemed to get happier as it got warmer. The winter was definitely dreadful, so I can understand why he's been having a mood boost.
We've began extending the house. Rex has a whole plan drawn out for it, and it's going to take a lot of time before we can get anywhere near what he wants to make. Still, if we do eventually get this built, it'll definitely be a lot more spacious than it is now. We can have dedicated rooms for certain things. Maybe we can even move that tailor bench from the kitchen into its own little room, and move the research table from storage somewhere else.
Things are looking up slowly but surely.
Though, each passing day I've been thinking about my friends more and more. It's worse than what it was before, and I'm sure it won't get any easier. Rex had seemed to notice pretty early on, and talked to me about it. He did a pretty good job of making me feel better, but it didn't last for too long. I'm still scared, despite being more comfortable with this new world I've found myself trapped on. I have no idea what to expect, and the scariest part is, neither does Rex. He's lived here for two years, and still has no idea what to expect.
Also, my magic hasn't really gotten much better. I can do simple scans, and still pick up objects, but no complicated spells still. Each time, my horn would fizzle out, and if I gave it enough force it'd send out yet another purple wave, disabling all of our electrical wires. Needless to say, I stopped trying after Rex yelled at me the third time.
I just need to have faith that somepony will come get me. Even if that faith is misplaced, it'll give me something to believe in. I think that's better than believing that I'm stuck on a random planet, bent on destroying everything that lives on it. It'll help me numb that realization and that pain. Even if that's not a good thing, I find that it works better than thinking about it all the time. Something to keep you distracted, right?
Me and Rex are pretty good friends now.
He's a bit rough around the edges. Well, way more than rough around the edges. He's not one to express his emotions all that much, which I've seen has ended badly for him. He'll kick or punch things out of anger, but always in the opposite direction of me. I know he wouldn't hurt me, but it still scares me when he gets like that. If something isn't going his way and he gets frustrated, he'll just.. flip out and start cursing.
I can't really blame him though, can I?
I'd say my trust for him went really high when he gave me my own little parka. It was a little loose, but he still made one for me, even though I told him to not worry about it. He felt bad though, since he had forgotten he even made it for three or so days. Still, I'm really happy that he did that. It was decently comfy too. Sure, Rarity wouldn't have been excited about it, but I sure was.
I want to make him something, to return the friendly gesture back, but I have no idea what to do. I know next to nothing about these weapons he's taught me to use, so I couldn't make him anything like that. I wasn't exactly the best with tools, but I knew the basics. Still couldn't think of anything with that either. I'm sure i'll find something eventually, especially now that its warmer out.
I've spent a lot of time indoors. I got the research for the basins done, so the hydroponic thing is pretty much finished. It gave me an opportunity to look at the other blueprints he had in storage, and begin to research those more and understand how they worked. They were all pretty interesting, and some of them were quite scary.
The one that interested me the most is this 'geothermal power generator.'
You build it and put it on top of a steam geyser, and it can convert the steam into power. It'd basically fulfill all of our electrical needs for a very long time. That was what I decided to start researching. The faster we can get this thing built, the less problems we'd have to deal with. Plus, more power means more heaters in the winter. Gotta' think ahead.
I have faith that things will pick up from here on out. I just nopony forgot about me..
Our room was getting tight, and these new plans should give us some room.
I mean, the main room is pretty tight. We moved the table next to the door which proved to make it look nicer, but still. We desperately needed space, and I was going to start working on that as soon as possible. I've drawn out what I want it to look like, and I think it's pretty decent. It will take some time however.
We'll deal with our little room here for now.
Twilight has been a great help these past few days. Her research is proving to be quite amazing. She always did seem smart, but I never expected her to be that smart. I thought she would have trouble coming up with idea's for things that didn't require magic, since her world relied on it so heavily, but she proved me wrong. She's grasping the more physical style of this world easier than I thought.
I've been getting nervous, however.
With each day that passes by without trouble, I can feel the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Nothing ever goes this long without something bad happening, whether it be huge or minor. I didn't like the tension. The worst part about it, is that you can never really prove that something is going to happen, only that you can feel yourself get more nervous. It happens out of the blue, point blank, without buildup. Instead, your left with a gut feeling that something will happen, yet you truly never know when.
I'm not exactly nervous for what's going to happen to me, but more nervous about what might happen to Twilight. She passed out during that insectoid attack, what happens if we get raided by some cannibals or something? Would she be able to fight when it counts? Will she be able to handle that? Anyone's first raid changes them. Somebody dies most of the time, and if you're lucky, it's not you.
Yet you're left with that little thought in your head telling you that you just killed someone. And, no matter how many times you do it, no matter how used to it you might think you are, it'll still be in your head reminding you. People here on the Rim simply don't talk about it and ignore it. It helps us cope with the events we've been forced to deal with. We always try to keep busy to distract ourselves.
Would Twilight be able to kill someone if she was forced into that situation?
I couldn't really tell. Half of me thinks that she'll do whatever she can to protect herself, using that survival instinct. Yet, the other half of me thinks she might just give up and let her life be taken because she doesn't want to hurt anyone, that dying is better than killing someone else. I don't want to bring this up to her either, because she's one to dwell on her thoughts constantly. Sometimes she frets over the littlest things.
That's been changing ever so slightly. I actually heard her curse once while doing some research.
Yeah, Twilight cursed. I guess from hearing it from me all the time it's burned into her mind. It was strange to hear the adorable purple pony that is supposed to be this little 'innocent' thing curse. It's like hearing a baby say fuck or something. It's funny.
I was outside, looking at the previous growing zones that I had put up before winter hit. I had nowhere to put the basins, and I didn't want to keep them outside, so traditional growing was the way to go at the moment. It wasn't quite warm enough yet to begin growing anything, but in a day or two, maybe three, it will be. Instead of waiting until then to get things ready, I was already marking where I wanted certain plants to be.
I didn't have a green thumb or anything, but I knew how to get things going. I really wanted to get some healroot growing, but I didn't know shit about it. I just harvested what I could from nearby, which proved to be good enough. However I'm not alone anymore, so we'll need more medicine if we want to be on the safer side of things. Perhaps Twilight could look into how to grow some? She might be better at this than I am.
Well, I finished up the outlines for the grow zones, and headed back inside. I'm a little excited to have some vegetables growing. It'll spice up the daily meals, instead of just.. meat and potatoes, or whatever else we can find that mixes it up a little bit. Some berries and what have you.
Twilight was currently on her own bed, just sitting there, chilling. I headed over to my own bed and sat down, my back against the wall.
"So, how was it?" She asked.
"Outlines are done, but still not warm enough to start growing anything."
Twilight nodded. "Yeah, that's what I was thinking."
The conversations between us became more casual. As time went on, we were getting used to eachother, and that resulted in us feeling more and more comfortable. We could tell what we were thinking sometimes. The silence never felt awkward either. We didn't talk when we ate all the time, we didn't talk about what we were doing all the time, we just simply lived. It's been the realest thing I've experienced since I've been on this planet.
"After we get the plants growing, you're going to start on building, right?" She asked.
"Yeah. I know the plans at the moment are kind of.. ludicrous, but I'm going to be focusing on one part at a time. It's not something I can make in a single summer. I think i'll start on expanding this main room, and get bedrooms for the both of us. I'm sure you'd love to have your own room."
Twilight smiled. "What, getting sick of me already?"
I chuckled. "No, but I'm sure you hate hearing me toss and turn in my bed all the time."
"You've got a point." Twilight said whilst she buried herself under one of her blankets. "Having some alone time wouldn't hurt."
"Agree'd." I said whilst laying down, staring up at the ceiling above. "I know that things are worse off for you, since you went from actual civilization to.. this.. But, for me, things have never been better since I crashed."
"If it weren't for you, Rex, i'd more than likely be dead. So while things might be.. worse, than they were before for me, this is probably the best outcome of my situation, and I'm glad I could be of use."
I chuckled a little. "You act like I use you for work."
"Well, used for work and as a friend."
"Better."
The room was taken hostage by silence. It was kind of nice, to simply sit there and enjoy the quietness. It's weird though, I used to hate the silence. It reminded me I was alone. Yet, now that she's here, even when it's silent I feel.. warm. I can't really explain it. It's an emotion I can't describe. I guess it's less of an emotion and more of a.. feeling.
Warm.
Twilight's POV
I'm pretty sure Rex fell asleep.
After we talked for a little bit on the beds, he just went silent. I tried talking to him a bit afterwards but no response. He deserves some rest though. I guess I should go back and get back to researching, there's nothing else to do other then that, huh? I'm not even tired yet. Well, not tired enough to sleep, that is.
I made my way back into storage and plopped myself back onto the little seat.
Back to researching. Atleast, that was the plan before I heard a loud crash from outside. The ground shook, along with the entire house. It obviously woke Rex up, because I could hear him rush outside the door nearly instantly after the sound. I immediately followed him, a little scared to be left all alone in the house.
He didn't make it far from the front yard however, as he was staring at something off in the distance.
"Re-" I cut myself as I saw what he was looking at. It was a large, metallic object, not far from our house. It was burnt, with flames all around it. I stared at it, not really grasping what it really was.
"A crashed pod.." Rex said, staring at it still. Not a second passed by before he took off, sprinting at full speed towards the object. I followed, not knowing why he was running at it. Was it dangerous? It could be.
"Rex, stop! Wait-"
"There could be people!" He yelled back at me, continuing to run towards the pod. I don't know how he expected to get anyone out of it, it was burnt pretty badly, with fire surrounding it. He stopped at the front of the fire, looking around it frantically, trying to find a way through the fire.
The inside was not on fire, so he jumped over the fire and into the big pod, disappearing from my sight.
I stood still, waiting for him to re-emerge. A minute passed by. One minute became two, and two became three. I was beginning to get worried. I couldn't hear movement inside the pod anymore, and I was starting to think he might have gotten hurt.
That was, until he finally re-emerged. Yet he was cradling something in his hands.
He jumped back over the fire, making his way over to me, but suddenly stopped, looking at me. I stared at him in confusion, watching his expression. He looked.. I don't know how to explain it. He looked sad and angry, and.. defeated. I then looked at what he held in his hands.
I choked on my own breath, and I felt my stomach churn.
It was a baby. A human baby. It was wrapped in a ragged piece of cloth that Rex must've torn off from his own clothing. It was completely burnt.
It was burned alive.
"It was the only thing inside.." Rex said slowly, staring down at it. "It must've burned up in the atmosphere.."
I wanted to throw up. I turned away from it, but the vision was still stuck in my mind. The burnt flesh, peeling off its body. The dark blood covered over its body, and its melted eyes stuck to its cheeks. I couldn't move, I was afraid any movement would set me off and make me start puking.
Rex still held it, and walked past me.
I watched him. He walked in a straight line, staring ahead. He didn't even seem lifelike.
It took me a few minutes before I felt just a tiny bit better and walked slowly towards the house, where Rex had disappeared to. I walked through the open door and immediately headed for the bed, taking a seat. Rex had appeared from the storage room with the lifeless baby in one hand, and a shovel in the other.
Without saying a word to me, he disappeared back outside.
He said that the baby must've burned in the atmosphere.. on its way down. It was alive while it burned.
It all happened so fast. I was just about to get back to researching, and all of a sudden.. It happened. I couldn't feel it coming, I couldn't tell if anything was going to happen, and it did. It opened my eyes fully to this new world, and what I was really going to have to endure.
Equestria seemed farther and father away with each thought, and I began to cry. Rex had come back inside at some point, but I didn't notice since I buried my head in my pillows. I could feel a warm hand touch my back, but it didn't stop the images of what I witnessed from popping into my head.
The burnt, peeling skin.
The melted eyes on its cheeks.
The dark, almost black oozing blood pouring from its cracked skin.
Two months living in this.. wasteland of a planet. Sure, everything was fine for the most part until the first month officially passed. Everything went downhill. The plans for the house were being built, but it seemed every other hour something would collapse and fail. Rex was getting more and more frustrated and ended up punching one of the wooden boards he was using. His fist got caught on a splinter, and it left a nasty little cut. We treated it, but it didn't help his mood one bit.
Rex was out hunting one night and got attacked by more 'insectoids'. According to him, not all of the bugs in that cave came out, and the hive was still intact. Which meant it was creating more and more of those evil looking bugs. As long as we were not anywhere near that cave, we were fine. But Rex just got a little too close that night. He didn't get hurt, thankfully, but it was enough to scare me. We actually got into an argument that night.
I wanted him to be more careful. I couldn't stand losing the only friend I have here and being alone. He got angry at that, saying he was fine to do what he pleased, that he had lived here long enough to know how things work and how to handle himself. I, of course, yelled back. I wanted him to be safe, but he just couldn't see that. Thinking on it now, it was both of our faults for that argument. Just a bad night in general.
We were fine after that, not a single argument afterwards. Though things weren't looking too well.
The crops we had growing were infected with some sort of.. disease? I don't know, but Rex said it wasn't good. We had to get rid of a lot of plants. It spread faster than we had initially thought. If we had paid attention to the crops, it probably wouldn't have gotten that bad. Can't really do much about it now though.
Rex suddenly grabbed me from my research to show me something as I was writing in notes for the Geothermal Generator.
"What is so important that you need to show me right now?" I asked.
Rex looked at me, a strange look on his face. The best way I could describe it is.. grim. "Something that you need to see."
With that, we continued to walk outside. We made our way behind a little mountain that was nearby. I hadn't traveled out this way, so I don't really know what he was going to show me. Perhaps it was some animals? Ores? Or just some new plants he found. Eventually we turned the corner of the mountain and he stopped. He stared ahead, as did I.
There were graves. Dozens of them. I opened my mouth but no words came out. I could feel my throat tightening as each second passed by, and it was getting that all familiar pain each time I swallowed. Eventually, I looked up to him, and managed to get a few words out.
"Why.. did you want to show me this?"
Rex glanced at me before staring at the graves. He didn't speak for what seemed like forever, simply staring ahead. He opened his mouth multiple times to say something, but nothing came out. He took a step forward and shook his head. "I don't know why. It just felt.. necessary. Like you had to see this."
"I.." I didn't know how to respond to that. Was there really any reason to show me this? Perhaps there was, but I couldn't see it.
"When winter came along, they got covered in snow. Now that the snow is gone, they're visible again."
"Were these people that.. you.."
"Killed?" He said, looking back at me. I nodded hesitantly. "Some, yes. Others, no. Whether they tried to kill me or not, I believe they deserve.. something. No one asked to be on this cursed planet, and since they found themselves on it, they deserve some sort of respect. Even the ones that didn't get a chance to live." He said, pointing at a small grave that looked newer than the rest.
I felt my heart squeeze when I saw it, yet no tears came out.
"I guess.. I guess I brought you out here to show you that even though we may be forced to kill people.. even though we're forced to do things we don't want to do, we still aren't monsters. I need you by my side when I get into a fight, and I need to count on you during those moments. And even if you do something you aren't proud of, you still are never a monster."
I nodded slowly. "Did.. you used to think you were a monster?"
He sat on the ground, crossing his legs. He gave a sigh and nodded his head. "I did. First time I killed someone I did. I kept running the scenario through my head, thinking about what I could've possibly done to make the situation play out differently. If I could've talked, or wound them enough for them to stop fighting. After the fifth, I began to change my thinking. If I kept thinking I was a monster, I would end up stooping down to become one."
"Rex, no matter what, I won't ever think of you as a monster. Okay?"
He nodded with a slight smile. "I know that. The same doesn't go for the others though. That singular bullet that ends someones life doesn't just affect them, but their parents, their siblings, their friends. They'll all have to live without them, whether or not they were a bad person. No matter what side you choose, somebody's going to think you're a monster."
"I never thought of that.." I said, looking down at the floor. I never thought about the effect on the families. Their friends, parents and siblings, everyone around them. That realization kicked in quite hard for me, and I could feel my heart squeeze with pain. My throat continued to tighten, to the point where it felt like spikes were lodged into my throat.
"When that pod crashed here," Rex continued. "I relived all of the moments I had when I first landed. How scared I was, how hopeless I felt. My immediate reaction was to just.. save whoever was inside. I saw myself in that little ship, and I so desperately wanted to save them." He stared at the small grave. "Must've been put into a pod at the very last second. Their parents put all their trust and faith into that pod in their very last moments I imagine. Look where it ended up leading to."
I could see Rex clench his fists. "This world is fucking cursed.. I don't know why only bad things happen here-" His voice raised with each word he spoke. "-but I'm fucking sick of it! Every god damn day, I have to fear what comes next! I keep trying and trying and what the fuck does it matter if I end up in the same god damn soil like them?!" Rex stood up, turning away from me.
The very next second, he yelled. He just.. screamed into the empty air, clenching his fists and shaking his head. It went on for a little while until he ran out of breath. He wiped something from his eyes before shaking his head again. "The only thing good that's happened to me since I've been here, is you, Twilight. And that scares me." He said, turning to me. I stared up at him, my heart squeezing when I saw the tears on his face. I had never seen him cry.
"If it were just me out here all alone, I could give less of a shit if I died. I'm so done with all of this. But I have you now, and now I have something to lose. And whenever you have something to lose in this world, it most definitely will be taken from you."
I shook my head at these words. "This world won't take me away, okay? I know that's hard to believe."
He sat back down, facing me. "You're innocent. You're normal. I hate seeing you change because of this world, when you could've just been normal."
I gave a slight smile. "I'm not even close to normal, Rex. I didn't even have friends until I was basically forced to go out and make some. I spent a lot of my life just reading books and researching spells. I had very little real life experience. I never went out to parties, or to go celebrate things with people. I sat in my room all day, doing nothing but learning. Even though I would rather not be stuck on this world, it's given me more life experience than I have had in my entire life. Yes, I've saved Equestria from multiple villains before, and helped people along the way with friendship problems. But, until I was stripped of most of my magic, and my ability to fly, and.. well, my home? I didn't realize that I had no experience."
Rex sighed, turning his head away from me, looking over to the graves. "I'd rather you stay in your room doing nothing but learning, than being stuck on a fucking cursed piece of shit planet. This place is so shitty, you'd think it's some god damn simulation or something. But no, it just wants to see everything fail. Like, something is pulling the god damn strings up above or something, trying to fuck us all over."
"And if there was, could we do anything about it?"
Rex shook his head. "I suppose not."
With that, he stood up. Without saying another word, he started his way back to the house.
I hope I can help him feel better.
With the big ass generator finally put back into storage, the main room was opened up a little. Nothing crazy, but it definitely felt less claustrophobic. Besides, that thing generated a little too much heat. During the winter it was all fine and dandy, sure, but it's spring now. I really, really don't need the inside of my house fucking baking. I'm not a fan of becoming a cookie.
Twilight has been a huge help on research as of recently. She's learning all sorts of shit, stuff that my small brain couldn't even begin to comprehend. Geothermal power? How the fuck would that even work? The schematic I bought had barely anything to go off of, which meant that Twilight was writing a lot of it in herself. The only reason I could build things like the generator and the wind turbines was because of those schematics I bought off traders passing by. Without them, my dumbass would barely be able to make something remotely useful in terms of tech.
The only thing I really could comprehend were drink mixes, and that was because it was my job to know.
I was with Twilight in the main room, simply chilling out. I didn't feel like working anymore on the damn plans, and I didn't feel like doing anything else either. Twilight seemed quite tired from researching so much, so she didn't feel like doing anything else too. So, there we sat, on both of our beds, staring at nothingness, completely silent. I wanted to break the silence, but I didn't know what to talk about.
It took a few minutes before I realized that I should probably do something. I mean, I really didn't want to, but sitting here doing nothing meant that I was wasting time. I could've told myself that I was simply chilling out with Twilight, but we weren't talking, so that wouldn't have made much of an argument. I shook my head, standing up and heading for the door. The crops needed to be checked up on, just to make sure none of them had blight.
I was only a foot away from the door before it swung toward at me, smashing into my face and causing me to fall.
I was instantly dazed. I looked up and saw someone standing in front of me. I instantly got onto my feet, ready to face them, before I got punched in the face. I wasn't prepared for a fight. I tried to face the attacker again, but I was only met with another fist to my face before I fell down.
I could feel blood leak out of my nose. I backed up as far as I could on the floor, my back meeting the side of my bed. I looked over to Twilight's bed, where she was currently cowering in the corner. I turned my attention to the attacker, who I now got a good look at. He was wearing a big dark brown duster, a white shirt underneath and what seemed to be flak pants. He was carrying a knife, pointing it at me.
"Oh, did I startle you, Rex?" He asked, before kicking me in the face. My face felt numb afterwards, and I rested my head on the side of my mattress. My eye's were still open, though irritated from the blood that got on them. I turned my head towards him again, slumped up against my bed.
"You know, for someone who killed my brother, I would've thought you'd be more.. difficult to deal with."
Murder his brother? Who the fuck was this guy?
He turned his attention towards Twilight, pointing his knife at her. "What the fuck do we have here, huh? What in the fuck am I looking at? Oh look at that fur.. That'd be nice on a coat-"
"N-No.." Twilight spoke with a tremble in her voice. The attackers face instantly became confused.
"What in the fuck? Did you just talk? Did you- did- did you just- hey-" He pointed the knife at me now. "-did you fuckin' teach this thing to talk or some shit? What is it, your pet?"
I couldn't respond even if I wanted to. My mouth was numb, though I counted all my teeth with my tongue. None of them broke. He shook his head at me. "Eh, doesn't matter anyways. That thing will sell beautifully on the market. Look at it- look- it's exotic purple color, the weird fuckin' horn and wings. It'll sell almost instantly!"
"But you-" He said, getting down onto his knee's and pressing the knife against my cheek. "You look like shit. I can't be goin' around selling shit to my most valuable customers, now can I? You ain't got a use, Rex. I mean, the fuck am I gonna' sell you for? Labor? We can get that out of anyone- I mean, come on, let's be honest here, you ain't got a us-" His face went from serious to delighted. "Actually, I think I have an idea!"
He grabbed me by my collar and began to drag me, but I tried to resist. I was met with another fist to my face, though the pain was numb at this point. I still couldn't feel much on my face. He forced my left hand onto the table. He curled all of my fingers up except my pinkie finger.
"I've gotta' make sure I'm right on this. I don't want to waste my precious time, do I?" He asked. With that, he brought the knife down onto the knuckle of my pinkie finger, and I felt it disconnect from my hand. Instant pain was sent through my arm, and I jerked myself away from the table, falling onto the floor.
I stared up at him as I groaned in pain. He reached over to my pinkie finger that was now on the table, examined it up close, and popped it into his mouth. He took a few seconds, swishing it around in his mouth and chewing, before spitting it out on to the floor. "Nah, you taste like shit." He dragged me back over against the bed, taking a few steps to examine me from afar.
"Although.. you could make for some good leather.. maybe- just maybe you do have a use after all. You won't mind if I take your skin off, do you?" He asked, stepping close to me with the knife in his hand, twirling it. I groaned, my eyes now half lidded. I hesitantly lifted my right hand up to flip him off. If I was going to die, I was going to do it being an asshole.
He chuckled. "Y'know, if you just died when my brother came to visit you, that would've been nice. I send him and his friends out saying 'hey, its just a small little house I found while running around, steal the shit and burn it down.' It was an easy job. Just some chemfuel, a match, and a couple bullets was all it would've costed. And yet you-" He said, pressing the knife against my throat. "-had to be a bitch and fuck it all up."
He stood up, kicking me in the gut. "Also, those graves? I took a good, long piss all over them. I was holding that in for way too long. Though, I did search each and every one of them to get my brother out of it. He's all rotten now, but he'll make for some good broth maybe. He'd love that I'm sure."
I could feel my consciousness fading from the pain, but I was determined to stay awake. I kept my eyes open, staring at him as he talked to no one but himself. He smirked at me, shaking his head. "Well, I guess I should get along with it, shouldn't I?"
With that, he crouched down and was ready to stab into my throat.
Not a second later, my ears began to ring from a sudden gunshot. His body went limp and fell onto me, his mouth hanging open and blood pouring from the side of his head. With my ears now ringing, I could feel my consciousness continue to fade, yet this time I was unable to keep myself awake.
My body felt as if I was falling through an infinite sky.
Starlight Glimmer's POV
Days have passed since Twilight went missing, and I don't know what to think of it.
Princess Celestia and Luna have had their best ponies searching for any clues. The girls have tried to intervene and help, but were told to simply return back to their normal lives, acting as if nothing was wrong. Spike has been going crazy the past few days, stressing so much that he's even had to sleep in my room.
I looked all over the castle, looking for anything that could help me. I didn't find anything relating to her disappearance.
I've been in charge of running the school for the past five or so days, and its stressful. The kids are constantly asking where she went, and coming up with their own theories as to why she disappeared suddenly. Celestia and Luna tried to keep things a secret, but it turns out most of Equestria knew only a day after it happened. Somepony in a high position must've accidentally let it out.
This was of course, bad news. If a villain decided to strike, now would be the optimal time. With Twilight gone, we aren't nearly as strong as we usually are. She and the girls are considered great deterrents, though with her now gone, this might give evil a chance to stirke.
I made my way to Twilight's bedroom, opening the door quietly. Over these few days of her going missing, I've been visiting her room. I don't know why. I guess I imagine myself to find her sitting on her bed one day, simply appearing after being gone for so long. As if nothing was wrong. It obviously wasn't going to happen that way, but it sure was something that I wished would happen.
I made my way over to Twilight's bed, stepping up onto it and sitting down. Her mattress, pillows, and blanket were something else. Perhaps she enchanted it with some spell to make it comfier. It was easily the best bed I have ever laid on, and I wished it was my own. Twilight sure spoiled herself with this.
I groaned, flopping my head onto one of the pillows. Without Twilight, nothing felt right. It felt as if she was the glue that held everything together. I mean, we were all doing fine without her so far. The girls were still able to teach, and do their own jobs. Celestia and Luna haven't changed one bit. Spike, other than having constant panic attacks, was doing fine, reading his little comic books and helping out.
Nothing really changed except her disappearance, so why did everything feel like it did?
I mean, of course, one of our best friends disappeared in an instant. Of course that was going to change things, especially our moods and all of that. But it felt different then that, it felt..
I can't put it into words. I didn't have the vocabulary to do so, and I didn't know if there was even a word to describe how I feel right now. I simply want my friend back. I miss her a lot, probably more than I thought I would've. I guess it's true that you never really know what you have until you lose it.
I went to get up off the bed before I felt something paper-like shift underneath the blanket. I could hear it crinkle, and I looked down at my hoof. I peeled the blanket off of the bed and found a small little paper sitting there, a little crumpled up with my sitting on top of it.
I grabbed it with my magic, examining it up close to read whatever it was.
It was.. spell markings? It was strange though, as the markings were things I've never seen before. A new spell of some sorts it seemed like. I could make out the small traces of teleportation magic, though it was mixed in with a few other things. I turned the little piece of paper over to the opposite side.
It read:
Long Distance Teleportation Destination - Griffonstone Goal - To revolutionize transportation Twilight Sparkle
It certainly was written with her style. It would certainly explain the hints of teleportation markings in the spell, but what is the end? If it has to do with the destination being Griffonstone, perhaps its the location written in spell marking? This might be how she went missing! Maybe she's stuck in Griffonstone, all alone! I know how those griffons can get.
I thought to myself if I should contact Celestia or Luna, but I thought against it. I can send a letter to them later explaining what happened, but Twilight could be injured for all I know, ready to be caged up or something by those griffons. I needed to act immediately, and as soon as possible.
I deciphered the spell markings as fast as I could, and I was ready to cast the spell.
"Twilight, I'm coming!"
I felt like I slept for a thousand years.
I was able to slightly move my hands around the area I was in. I could feel a blanket on top of me, and it felt just like mine. Well, atleast I knew I was in my bed now. I tried to open my eyes, but they were closed shut. I could feel my face tense up with pain, and I realized what happened before I knocked out. My face must be pretty swollen.
I brought my hands up to my eyes and forced them to open. It turns out it wasn't my face being swollen that forced my eyes shut, but that stupid crust that forms on top of it. I peeled it away with my fingers painfully, and I was finally able to see. I could see that I was indeed in my bed, covered in my blanket. I brought my hands up to look at them.
That's when I noticed my left hand had my pinkie missing right at the knuckle. It was wrapped in some sort of bandage, so I couldn't see the nasty little details hiding underneath, but it certainly was gone. I was just thankful that I couldn't feel the pain of it anymore. I turned my head to my left, taking in the rest of the room.
It was normal. Nothing seemed to have changed, except for one thing.
There was a potted plant on top of my end table. It wasn't fully grown, so I really couldn't tell what it was. I was going to chuckle to myself, but I could feel the pain rising in my chest, so I didn't. I said a long while ago that I wanted something to decorate the room with, and I thought about a plant. And what do you know, now I have one.
I heard a sigh come from the storage room. A second later, Twilight walked through the doorway.
"The math says it shouldn't work, but it seems in theory it doe-" Twilight's eyes landed on me. Her eyes went wide and she immediately went to my side. "Rex!"
I smiled at her. "Hey.."
She looked as if she was going to cry, but she shook her head as if to stop herself from doing so. "Sweet Celestia, you've been asleep for awhile.."
I tilted my head at her. "..how long..?"
"Well.. After.. you know, all of that happened, you were hurting badly. You were unconscious and kept groaning in pain, so I put.. a healing spell on you. The down side of the spell is that whoever you cast on it will be put in a sort of.. stasis."
I wasn't liking what I was hearing, and apparently my face showed it.
"No no no- you weren't out for a long time! It's only been a week."
I still didn't like the answer, but it was better than what I was thinking previously.
"I'm just glad you're okay.. I.. I'm sorry for not acting sooner, I-"
"Twilight-" I said painfully, my voice scratchy. "-stop. I'm just glad you were able to do something before it was too late."
She nodded her head, still having guilty feelings obviously shown by her sad look. I tried to change the subject onto something else, to possibly lighten the mood up. I didn't want to be feeling sad or stressed at the moment, I was already dealing with bodily pains at the moment.
I lifted my hand up and poked the potted plant. "So.. what's this..?"
Her face lightened up. "Oh, that's a rose plant. I was thinking the room could use some decoration, and I thought that a plant would be the perfect thing to do that."
I chuckled to myself in my head. "Great minds think alike."
"Huh?"
I didn't respond to her, and instead smiled, staring forward at nothing. I felt my body ache still, and I felt extremely as well. Twilight seemed to notice this as my eyes went half-lidded. "It's normal to feel tired after the spell wears off, so you'll probably be asleep for another day."
I nodded to her and closed my eyes. "Thank you, Twilight.." I said quietly as I felt that familiar falling feeling.
"Goodnight." She said.
That was the last thing I heard before my mind drifted into the abyss.
I was working the bar as usual. The trade ship was bustling with people, which meant that I was going to get plenty of tips that shift. I was wearing my usual work attire, a white shirt with a waistcoat and vest, along with black gloves. I was considered the best bartender the place had to offer, and, in my own humble opinion, rightfully so. I came up with plenty of strange mixes for drinks which proved to taste good and sell well.
The best part about working on a trade ship was the fact that there were always new, strange drinks that arrived. Drinks I've never seen before, that had strange names. I tried each and every one of the new drinks that always came onboard, and tried to incorporate them into mixes. Sometimes it'd work, sometimes it didn't. Still, it was one of the reasons I was so good at my job. Most of the other bartenders were too afraid to try out the alien drinks, afraid it might do something. I took it as an opportunity to get more money.
I had just finished pouring a drink for a customer when the other bartender tapped me on the shoulder. It was a blonde girl named Melissa. She was the one that accompanied most of the time on all my shifts. She was a little wild, though that made her all the more fun to be around. I loved hanging out with her and having conversations during our shifts. She was my best friend, and she definitely earned that spot in my life. Honestly, if it weren't for all of this happening, I would've asked her out.
"What's up?" I asked, to which she gave me a little smile.
"Shift's almost up, and we got a new case of drinks. Want to come try them out with me?" She had a slightly flirty tone. I nodded my head with my own smile, before tilting my head slightly in question.
"Who's going to be in the next shift?"
"Gary and Lucia. Gary said he wanted to help train the new girl, so Jake let him."
"Ah." I said, nodding my head. "I hope the old man doesn't try making a fool of himself trying to flirt with her."
"He's already a fool Rex." Melissa said with a giggle as she led me out. We passed by Gary and Lucia on the way. Gary was an older gentlemen, being in his 60's. He had short black hair and a mean looking face, though he was one of the nicest people on the ship. He ruined that rep easily though by flirting with young women constantly. Lucia was a new arrival on the ship. She was looking for work, and she found it. She had really long vibrant green hair, and dark skin with what looked like white tribal markings all over her body. She was definitely different than the others around here, but I think that made her all the more appealing.
Melissa and I both made it to drink storage, where the new cases of alien-drinks were being kept. As Bartenders, we had the keys to this storage room.
Melissa sat down on the steel floor, and I did the same across from her. She pulled out a rack of green glowing drinks, pulling two bottles out and handing one to me. I grabbed it and examined it up close. It was strange looking. It looked like a drinkable version of those lava-lamps you can buy for your room. I pulled my bottle opener from my pocket out and popped the top, seeing green mist come from the bottle. I smirked at Melissa and held my bottle towards her. She clinked mine, and we both took a sip.
It tasted strange, but not bad. It tasted like how a lava-lamp looks. I know that doesn't give much to go off of, but I really couldn't explain it with words. I looked at the bottle, and then to Melissa. She shook her head at me.
"Eh, I don't think it'll have any use. What could we even mix it with?"
I shrugged. "Maybe.. that gold shit we got a little while back? What was it called.. Auriferous? Who even gave it that name?"
"You're asking the wrong person." Melissa said with a smirk before examining her own bottle. "You know the rule. We opened it, now we gotta' finish it. Wanna' see who can drink it the fastest?" She said, her eyes narrowing at me playfully. I smirked back at her, and nodded.
"Loser has to polish the bar next shift."
"You're on."
We both began to drink.
My eyes slowly opened as I felt something shift at my feet. Lifting myself up a little bit, I could see that it was Twilight sitting on her own bed. I gave a loud sigh and let my head fall back onto the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Twilight heard my sigh and gave a soft giggle. "You're awake."
"Yep.. I am."
"How was your sleep?"
"It was actually decent."
"I'm glad." She said before hopping off the bed and slowly walking up to my side. She gave me a warm smile before poking my side gently with a hoof. "You should get up and start moving around. Staying in bed like that will not make the soreness go away."
"Fine, fine.." I said, sitting up and letting my feet dangle from the side of the bed for a second before standing. I stood there in place for a second, feeling all of my muscles ache at the same time. "Why does everything hurt..? I understand I got punched in the face and all that other stuff, but.. even my legs hurt."
"It's the spell. It focuses on all parts of the body instead of just one, incase there is anything else that's wrong that couldn't be found. It's nothing to worry about. It's worked wonders, actually. Your face is back to normal, not all swollen like it was a week ago."
I felt my face with my hand, feeling a scar that was on my cheek.
Twilight frowned. "Yeah.. The punch must've cut your face or something. It's not permanent from the looks of it, but even if it was, it doesn't look bad."
"Where'd you put him?" I asked, ignoring what Twilight had said. She looked stunned for a second before giving me a slightly saddened look.
"Buried him with the other graves. And.. put the other graves back into shape. All of them had holes in them."
I shook my head in anger. That psycho dug each one of those bodies out to fuck with them, I'm sure of it. I wanted Twilight to see the graves, but not the corpses that lay underneath. I felt a little sad, knowing how she might've felt. She seems to have kept the place going since I've been out, despite only being out for a week. Still, a week can change everything here.
"You've done great around here, Twilight." I said, trying to switch the subject off the current topic.
Twilight smiled at the compliment. "Thanks! It's been a little lonely, but it was okay for the most part. Nothing exciting happened, just me researching and coming out to check up on you every once in awhile. Oh, and I kept the little rose alive."
I looked to the end-table and smiled, seeing the little rose in the pot. It had grown a little since I last saw it. For some reason, seeing the little plant still alive and well made my heart ache a little. I can't put a finger on exactly why, but I didn't care. The feeling made me happy, that was for sure.
"Well, I'm glad the little guy is alive." I said, turning to her. She nodded with a smile. She then looked over at the storage door, then back to me.
"Well, I better get back to working. I'm almost done with the prototype plans for the geothermal generator. I dunno' if we're going to be able to even make it, but it'd be in our best interest if we can."
I nodded. "Get to it then."
With that, Twilight walked into storage. I could hear her a second later knocking something over and cursing lightly. She must've tripped over something. If only I could've seen! The question now was to think about what I needed to do. If I was out for that long, that means Twilight was the one cooking for herself, or perhaps she was just eating the potatoes that grew from the ground? Who knows.
I went to check food-storage, seeing that we definitely had quite a bit of food. I was relieved, knowing that food wasn't going to be an issue for the rest of spring and summer. All I really needed to do now, was to focus on building up the rest of the house plans. I popped into storage for a quick second, grabbing the tools I needed to do the job and headed outside, continuing where I had left off a week or so ago.
I placed my hand on the wall, leaning on it before I saw it.
I forgot that my pinkie finger on my left hand was missing. I mean, there was still a little bit of meat there, but it was gone for the most part. I wiggled it in front of my face. I was actually quite glad, because if it had been any other finger I would've been pissed off. My pinkie finger was the least useful finger out of all my fingers, so I suppose I got lucky with it. Though, I would rather have none of my fingers be chopped off. Yeah, that'd be great.
Can't have shit on the Rim, I guess.
The wind slowly picked up as the sun fell on the horizon. I had gotten quite a bit of work done, and, hopefully within two or so more weeks, it'll be finished. Atleast the extension, that is. The other stuff will take months to build most likely. I looked down at my hands, seeing all the tiny little cuts that I had received throughout the day. They stung a little, but it was a good price to pay if it was required to get this built.
With my tools in hand, I made my way back inside the house. Not even a second after walking inside, Twilight ran from storage and stopped right in front of me, a wide smile on her face. "Rex-Rex guess what!"
"What?"
"I finished it!"
"What?" I asked, a little shocked.
"Yep!" She said, nodding. "I did it! I figured out what was confusing me, and just.. pieced it together. All we have to do now is build it!"
"That won't be happening for a little while. I want to get the extension to the house built first, okay?"
Twilight nodded. "Of course, but think about all the good this will do! We won't even have to worry about power!"
"That does sound nice." I said, walking over to my bed and taking a seat on it. I was quite tired from the little construction project. I was about to lay my head down before a loud crashing sound came from storage. Twilight ran to my side, and I reached for my rifle that laid against the end-table. I can never get a break, can I?
I aimed my rifle towards the door, ready to shoot anything that came out. I wasn't going to let my guard down even for a second and receive another ass-kicking. I slowly stepped forward towards the door, peering inside with my rifle pointed forward. I could see an outline of something, but it was under some of our stuff.
I flicked on the flashlight attached to my rifle and almost squeezed the trigger, before I lowered my rifle completely.
It was another one.
Another pony.
It struggled to get the equipment it had crashed into off of itself, and when it did it saw me standing in the doorway. It froze immediately once it saw me, it's eyes going wide. I glanced behind me to see Twilight, who didn't have view into the room. "Twilight, look."
I stepped out of the way.
Twilight's POV
Standing in our storage room, stood Starlight. I froze when I saw her. Her eyes landed on me eventually, and her mouth hung open slightly.
"Starlight..?" I asked hesitantly.
"Twilight!" Starlight yelled as she ran towards me, wrapping a hoof around my neck and pulling me in. I could hear her sob quietly. "W-We've been looking for days for you.."
Days?
I stood back from her, my brain still not fully processing that she was actually here. As sad as it sounds, I sort of forgot what she had looked like. My mind was constantly thinking of other things, and didn't focus on what I was missing back home. I could still think of what they looked like, but instead of remembering even the littlest details, I only remember a general idea.
I glanced to where Rex stood, but he wasn't there. I didn't question it, and instead turned my focus back to my old friend. "H-How'd you get here?"
"You wrote down a long-distance teleportation spell on a little piece of paper, and I found it. I translated the markings and.. well, now i'm here."
I felt a shiver go down my back. "Y-You didn't tell anypony else?"
"N-No.. I came as fast as I could, fearing that you might be in danger.." I felt my heart squeeze once I fully processed the situation that was playing right in front of me.
She was stuck here, just like me.
"C-Come, Starlight. We've.. got to talk."
I was sitting on my bed when both Twilight and the new pony walked from storage into the main room. The new pony seemed to be looking all around herself, taking in the place around her. Her eyes eventually landed on me, but instead of fear, she had a curious look on her face now.
"Starlight, this is Rex. Rex, this is Starlight." Twilight said. Starlight smiled at me, to which I gave a small smile back and waved towards her. I don't think she really understood what that meant, but she seemed to understand it was a greeting of some sort. "Starlight, can you sit on the bed right there?" Twilight asked, pointing towards her own bed. Starlight gave her a slightly confused look before obeying.
"I don't remember houses in Griffonstone looking like this." Starlight said, still admiring the place. "It looks.. interesting though."
Twilight visibly cringed, and looked at me with worry in her eyes. I could tell that she was going to have trouble explaining what was going on, so I cleared my throat. "That's because this isn't griffonstone."
"Really..?" She asked, turning to Twilight. "But the paper said griffonstone was the location. Did you write it wrong?"
I shook my head. "Just.. Listen, Starlight. Don't talk until we're done, okay?" I asked as politely as I could. Starlight gave me a strange look before turning her gaze back to Twilight, waiting for her to begin talking. Twilight was already pacing around the room, shaking her head.
"So, you didn't tell nopony about the spell?" Twilight asked.
"No.. I thought that you might've been in trouble, so I cast the spell as fast as I could."
Twilight nodded her head. "How long have I been missing?"
Starlight tilted her head in slight confusion, before opening her mouth. "A little less than a week."
Twilight froze at her words, and I looked at Starlight a little confused. Twilight had been here for over two months at this point, and she has only been missing in their world for.. a couple days at most? How did that even make sense? Well, I can't really be asking that, I'm talking to a couple of ponies, but still. It didn't add up. "Sweet Celestia.." Twilight said, shaking her head.
"Why..?" Starlight asked.
"She's been here for more than two months." I stated, looking at Twilight. Starlight stared at me, before turning to Twilight with a confused face.
"I don't understand.. That doesn't make sense."
"The teleportation spell was stronger than I thought. Instead of just being long-distance across Equus, it teleported me here. Time must work differently here compared to back home, since it's definitely been longer than a couple days." Twilight said, not looking at Starlight and still pacing around the room.
"W-What are you talking about? Are you implying that we aren't on Eq-"
"Yes." Twilight said, stopping and looking at her. "This isn't Equus."
Silence filled the room as the two of them stared at eachother. I simply watched, a little curious as to what Starlight's reaction might be, and a little saddened as well. Not only was Twilight stuck here, but now so was one of her friends. And, that isn't a fate anybody would wish on even their worst enemy.
Twilight gave a loud sigh. "Rex here took me in on my first day, and ever since then we've been living together. A lot of spells don't work, but some specific ones do. I've already tried teleporting back, but it seems something here is stopping me from doing so. I was hoping that somepony back home would come get me, but.." Twilight shook her head. "I suppose that was an unfulfilled dream."
"W-We can get back, I know we can, w-we just have to-"
"Starlight!" Twilight yelled, approaching Starlight. "I've thought of every possibility already! I've tried all sorts of different combinations, I've tried to think of something that could try to signal you all back home, and none of it would ever work! I was hoping that somepony would find that piece of paper and tell the others, to make some sort of group to come get me, but it seems the one pony that found it decided that wasn't necessary."
"T-Twili-"
"I've been stuck here for over two months! Do you think I want to be here?! You have no clue what it's like to live here, what it's like to survive here. Even though I gave up on finding a way back home, I still had a tiny bit of hope in my heart, and look where it ended up. Now you're stuck here too." Twilight turned her head away from her, looking to the front door.
Starlight shook her head. "C-Come on.. There has to be.. has to be some way that we-"
Twilight turned back to her with an even angrier expression. "If there was even a slight chance, don't you think I would've fucking tried it?"
It seems it was true that I was rubbing off on Twilight. At first, she didn't like me cursing all the time, but with time I heard her curse more and more, and now it seems it's fully into her vocabulary. I've only ever heard her curse when something goes wrong, or when she's confused on something. Never in a full sentence. Starlight simply stared back at her, her mouth slightly open and her eyes wide, a tear falling from her left eye.
"Y-You've changed.." Starlight said quietly.
"I've barely changed, Starlight. I just accept the facts when they're in front of me." Twilight said, her tone still angry.
I raised my hand towards Twilight. "Twilight, you might be acting a little too harsh."
Twilight chuckled. "Oh, I'm acting too harsh? Really? She acted like an idiot for not telling anypon-"
I stood up and cut her off. "And you're acting like an idiot by yelling at your friend that is just as scared as you were when you first got here. Come on, Twilight. I helped you get through your time here, now we need to help her. Isn't that what friends are for?"
Twilight stared at me, her eyes wide like she just realized something. The air around us was so stiff that it could be considered a solid object. I could feel my skin stand up the longer the silence went on, before it was broken with a sigh from Twilight. "Y-You're right.." Twilight turned her gaze to Starlight and shook her head. "I-I'm sorry, Starlight.. There isn't a way back home. Atleast not one that I've found myself.."
She then put on a small smile. "B-But.. I'll keep searching for a way.. A-And I'd like you to help me."
Starlight stared at her, tears falling from her face before she sniffled, wiping her tears away with her hoof. She shook her head. "I-I still can't.. believe this is all happening. I don't.. I don't get it.." Twilight hopped up onto the bed next to her and snuggled beside her, whispering in her ear.
I needed to leave the room for a little bit, to get a tiny bit of fresh air from the tense feeling of the room, so I left out the front door with my rifle. I felt the cool wind push against my face as I stepped outside. There was an orange glow across the sky as the sun disappeared below the horizon. If only I had a camera to take a picture of it.
I shook my head. I needed to think about the current situation.
There was a new person joining our little group. Twilight's friend, Starlight. With an extra body around the base, we can do more and more things faster. She could help Twilight do researching, or perhaps tend to the crops while we do other things. Perhaps she could help me even construct the extension to the house. However, this also gave us a new problem. Food. With her now being with us, this meant that we would need to worry about food consumption. Me and Twilight were doing really well with our supply, but that might change with another person joining us.
Plus, Twilight was now a die hard fan of meat, but she explained that her people hated meat because of it being taboo. If Starlight didn't like meat, or wasn't able to consume the meat, she would have to rely on the crops we grew. That would mean we would need a stable supply of vegetables and other plants to ensure that we have enough stored for the next winter.
Actually, scratch that. We have hydroponics. All we need is to construct a room for it, and we'll have crops growing during the winter. Therefore we wouldn't need to worry about running out of food during the winter. It was a good thing that Twilight was able to figure out how the hell to make one of those things.
I yawned and stretched, giving a big sigh afterwards. I was still definitely tired, and I needed my sleep. I could care less if those two needed space, because I needed my sleep. I opened the front door to see them both in the same position I saw when I left, though Starlight was no longer crying, and looked less afraid. They were still whispering to eachother. I went straight to my bed and laid down, setting my rifle against the end-table.
"Hey, I don't mind if you two talk or whatever, just don't wake me up. I'm tired." I said, not bothering to give them time to say anything as I buried my head into my pillow. I didn't even care about taking off my shoes, I just wanted to sleep. I could hear their whispers grow quieter and quieter as I delved deeper and deeper into a dream-state.
I smashed the bottle down onto the steel floor. "Hah, I finished first."
Melissa gave me a smirk. "Well, can't say I didn't try." She said, swishing the drink in her bottle. There was only a tiny bit left that she hadn't drank. I shook my head with a smile and chuckled lightly.
"Nah, don't worry about polishing the bar. We'll do it together."
"Oh, feel bad for the girl that lost to a fair bet? I don't need you pitying me, thank you very much." Melissa said playfully as put the rack of drinks back and standing up. I followed her actions, standing up myself and motioning her to come along with me. We both headed from drink-storage to living quarters.
I stopped in front my door. "Are you sure you don't want to come in? I rented that weird new pirate movie. I heard it's got a hot and steamy scene in it."
Melissa shook her head with a smile. "Nah, I'm good. If I wanted to watch porn, I would do it on my own time. Besides, I need to sleep. I think I'm coming down with something, and it's making me feel like shit. I'm planning to head over to the clinician to see if it's anything I should be taking meds for."
I nodded my head with a smile, a little saddened that she couldn't come and hang-out. "Ah, well, I hope it's nothing serious. You let me know if you need help with anything, or if you just want some company, okay?"
She giggled. "Okay Rex, I'll be sure to give you a bootycall when I'm in the mood."
"Hey-" I said, bringing my hands up in defense. "I'm not against it-"
"Oh hush you." Melissa said before she walked off, leaving me alone in front of my door. I shook my head, watching her walk down the hallway before taking a turn left and disappearing out of sight. I gave a light sigh, shaking my head. I pulled out my keycard and put it in front of the door-scanner. A second later, the door slid open with ease. I took a step inside my room, before sighing.
While Rex was sleeping I talked to Starlight. We spent most of the night talking, actually.
I could tell she didn't believe half the things I said, and she still couldn't believe that she was no longer on Equus. I know I told her I wanted her to help me find a way back home, but I don't believe those words. As weird as it sounds, I've already given up trying to find a way back home. I mean, the one chance I had to getting back home is gone because she didn't simply tell Celestia or Luna before she came here. It wasn't like Starlight at all.
Rex was also right. He had taken me in when I was scared, and Starlight is just as scared as I was.
The best thing to do for her, is to simply help her adjust into this new life. She's stuck here with us now, whether she wants to be or not. I have a feeling she'll have an easier time adjusting into this new life better than I have, due to her past experience being alone in a tiny town in a flat desert. Still though, she will have a hard time accepting her new life here.
A lot of the night was her crying.
She told me that everyone had been searching everywhere for days. That she felt so alone and afraid, despite having the other girls there with her. She missed me, and I honestly missed her too. I guess I wasn't able to focus on how much I missed everyone back home because I had other things to do. Yet, now opening that door once more, I found myself crying along Starlight. We made sure to keep quiet, as to not disturb Rex.
"So.." Starlight started, wiping the tears from her eyes with her hoof and looking over to Rex. "Who is.. he?"
"Rex.. He was here when I got here. He took me in and helped me, and is honestly a really good person, despite being a little rough around the edges. He's been here way longer than I have, and I'm thankful that he's a friend instead of an enemy."
Starlight smiled lightly at that comment. "I'm glad he's good. I thought you might've been held captive by somepony evil."
I chuckled lightly. "They'd have to get through Rex before that happened. And even then, I've learned to hold my own here. Things are obviously much more difficult without most of my magic, but I can use some spells. Healing spells, scanning spells, and I can pick things up. Other than that, it'll fizzle out or cause a big wave to be sent throughout the land. Rex doesn't like that when that happens, so, I stopped."
"What about your flying?" Starlight asked.
"Magic related, and won't work. I'm stuck on my hooves for now."
Starlight shook her head, giving a sigh. "Well.. how about you tell me about the place. I know you've only said bad things, but, there has to be some good, right?"
I breathed in before giving a sigh, shaking my head. "Honestly? No, not really. Everything here is a downgrade from Equus. There are murderers, cannibals, slavers, giant insects, dangerous plants and animals, and plenty of other things that are out to get us. This place knows no peace."
"It's.. hard to imagine a place like that. I just... We have lived a certain way for so long, so I can't really understand the concept of this new world. It doesn't make sense to me."
"I know."
We kept talking for hours on end, probably somewhere early in the morning. We talked about what happened without me on Equus, and what everypony else has been up to. We talked about what I had to go through, along with Rex. We talked about random things, and talked about things that made no sense. We just talked.
Eventually, we both passed out on my bed. It was big enough for the both of us to sleep comfortably on. Tomorrow was going to be an interesting day. It was going to be the introduction of this new world to Starlight. She was going to see and experience what I've been having to deal with for the past two plus months. What are we going to do..?
Rex will have an idea, I'm sure.
I awoke to a crashing sound coming from storage. My eyes instantly shot open, and I sat up quickly, only to see that Twilight was peering her head out of the doorframe with an awkward smile. "Sorry, did I wake you?"
I nodded my head with a sigh, yawning loudly and stretching my legs out. My head felt a little dizzy as well after sitting up so fast. Twilight stepped out from storage into the main room, and walked up to me. I felt the back of my neck with my hand, still feeling my muscles ache a little. "Where's your friend? Star... Star-"
"Starlight. And she's currently in storage. I was showing her the blueprints of the stuff I've been researching. She seems super interested in them, so I just let her look through them all." I nodded my head, standing up and shaking my head awake.
"Breakfast, then?"
"About that.." Twilight said, looking over to Storage before looking back to me and whispering. "I'm not so sure if Starlight will be okay with the whole.. meat thing."
"Try to convince her. If she can't handle it, then we'll simply rely on vegetables to feed her. As inefficient as that might be, it'll have to do." I said while walking over to the kitchen, Twilight following quickly behind.
"How am I supposed to convince her to eat meat, something that's.. really taboo in our world?"
I shrugged. "I dunno. Show her you eating it, and offer it to her. If she knows how much you like it, she might be more willing to try it out. And if she doesn't like it, then as I said, we'll rely on vegetables for her. Although, I think you ponies have a craving for meat that you don't know about, because you eat it like it's the greatest damn thing ever."
"Well I'm sorry for liking something that tastes so good."
I shook my head before flapping my hand at her face. "Now shoo, I'm trying to cook. I'll give you a little piece to bring to Starlight to see if she likes it." Twilight smirked at me before making her way back into storage. I looked over at the pan that laid on top of the stove, and shook my head.
We should have something different instead of the regular old meat and potatoes, but what?
We've got rice, potatoes, some corn, and even some berries and other things. Definitely got a good selection of meat to choose from, so I know that won't be an issue. I'm thinking some of that Muffalo meat might go well with some rice. So, that's the meal for today. Muffalo meat over rice, along with a couple berries on the side or something. I dunno', I'm just hungry. Anything will do.
Dinner was ready, and I had already plated the food. I set Twilight and Starlight's food on their bed, and I had already sat down to begin eating mine. They both were still in storage, probably talking. Though, after a minute or two, Twilight walked out with what seemed to be a nervous Starlight. I raised an eyebrow at them, gesturing my hand towards them in question. "What's up?"
"Starlight is willing to try the meat." Twilight said before turning to look at Starlight, who nodded hesitantly. Twilight then looked over to her bed, seeing the plate of food that sat there. Her eye's widened. "What kind?" She asked, looking over to me once again.
"Muffalo. Decided to change it up."
"Well, it smells wonderful." Twilight said, walking over to her bed and taking the food into her magic before sitting up onto her bed. She patted a hoof next to her for Starlight to come sit with her. Starlight made her way slowly, physically showing to be nervous with each step. She stopped in front of the bed, looking at the plate of food that I had made for her. She hesitantly enveloped the plate with her magic, and sat next to Twilight.
Twilight nodded to her with a smile before taking a fork-full of rice and meat into her mouth, doing it slower than usual to show Starlight. Starlight stared at her, a little in shock from what she saw, but it seemed to have worked. Seeing her friend eat it must've calmed her down a little bit, because she poked a tiny bit of meat with her fork and scooped up a ton of rice along with it, sending it straight into her mouth.
"How is it?" I asked.
Starlight stared down at her fork, then to her plate, and then finally onto me. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She then stared down at the plate, shaking her head. "W-Why.."
Twilight cocked her head. "Why what?"
"Why is it.. actually good?"
I gave a light chuckle. "I'm telling you, there is something in you ponies that make you have a hidden craving for meat. Just because it might be perceived as taboo from wherever you are doesn't mean that it isn't good. Just isn't the norm."
Starlight then shook her head. "I-It's good, but... I hate the fact that something died for me to eat it. Something intelligent.."
I shrugged. "When in times of need and survival, you have to learn to get rid of your morals. I've learned that you can worry about morals only when you have the luxury to do so. Besides, I always make it quick. I always try to make it as quick and as painless as possible."
Starlight stared down at her plate. "It still doesn't feel right."
Twilight placed her hoof onto Starlight's shoulder, giving her a nod. "You don't have to eat it. There are other things that we have that you can eat instead. If it makes you sick, or upsets you, don't force yourself." Starlight kept staring at the plate before turning her head up to her friend, giving a slight smile.
"I'll eat it. I just have to get used to it first.."
With that being said, she continued to eat her food. With each fork-full of food, she began to become more and more comfortable in eating it. She wasn't hesitating with each bite, but she was definitely examining the cooked meat. She looked at it as if it were some rare artifact.
With my plate now finished, I was ready to go and continue working on the extension. I stood, heading to the kitchen to clean off my plate before making my way to my rifle. I picked my rifle up, retrieved some tools from storage, and headed to the door. Twilight spoke up before I left out the door though.
"Rex?"
"Yeah?" I asked.
"Oh, you're going to continue the extension, huh?"
"Precisely." I said with a nod.
"Alright, be safe. Starlight will stay with me for the day."
I nodded towards her and headed outside and to the back of the house. The extension of the house was coming along now. It would definitely provide a good amount of space. After I'm done adding the extensions, I'll be able to start building the bedrooms. That won't take as long, as it won't be as large as what I'm currently doing, but I'm estimating that it'll be done right before the end of summer. That's what I'm hoping for, atleast.
Working out here in the sun is exhausting, but it does give me time to think about what to do next. With only the sun, the wind, and the landscape to accompany me, it makes for a soothing experience. I would wish the wind would kick up a little bit, because it is a little hot out.
With it now being around, I'd say, 5:00pm, I was ready to take a break. I usually continued to work and work until something was done instead of taking breaks in-between. The breaks just made me relax too much, and slowed down my process of working afterwards. However, I can officially say that the extension is 90% completed. Oh, and I fell through my scaffolding. Yeah, the frame wasn't leveled correctly, and the right back-side slid back a little bit. The board shifted and- I fell right through.
I came out fine, except for a bruise on my back. It wasn't anything to complain about.
As I had all my tools in hand, along with my rifle on my back, I was ready to head back inside before I saw a significantly large group travelling off in the distance. I stopped, setting down my tools and pulling my rifle into my hands. I eye'd them for a little while, seeing that they had pack-muffalo's. As they walked closer and closer, I saw that they were dressed in traditional tribalwear.
Then, a couple familiar faces were visible.
I smiled and slung my rifle onto my back, making my way towards the tribe. They could see me approaching, and smiled at me. I could see one of the small children that was on the back of a muffalo carry a flashlight, examining it like it was the most magnificent thing it'd ever seen. A man, dark in skin-color and with his hair put into a sort of tribal-ponytail approached me with a smile, extending his hand out.
I shook his hand. "I haven't seen you in a long while."
"Not seen you in a long while as well." He said with a smile, before gesturing over to the small child. "You have given us something magical. It has helped us in times of darkness, and for that I thank you."
I shook my head. "No need to thank me. The trade benefited me as well. The food you gave me will someday save me from starving. In fact-" I said before pausing, rummaging around in my pocket for my flashlight before pulling it out, showing it to him. It was in much worse condition than the one I gave him previously, but with two flashlights, it'll last them quite awhile.
"No- no I will not accept another one. You've already graced us with a generous-"
I grabbed his arm, forcing his hand open and placing the flashlight in it. "This is not a trade. It is simply someone helping out another survivor. Use it to force the darkness away. We all know that there is too much of it in this world." The man simply looked down at the flashlight in his hand before examining it up close, and then smiling at me.
"I understand we do not interact much. That is because of our distance, but I will always consider you as somebody who'm I can trust even my youngest with." The man said, gesturing to the small child once again. I looked back to the small child, before looking at the rest of the group. There were dozens of them, when before it was only a good ten of them.
"I see that you have expanded your group." I said, nodding to the rest of the group. Some of them seemed very tired, while others were rummaging around in the grass nearby, looking for berries or other plants and flowers. Some were also talking amongst themselves.
"There was another group that were alone, and needed help. Without us, they would have truly died alone during the winter. We are all family now."
I nodded. "I'm glad you helped them. If you trust them, they must be nice."
"Indeed. They are kind souls."
Suddenly, a little girl ran up to the man, hugging onto his leg and pointing outward behind me. "Papa, look." Both the man and I turned around. I smirked, seeing both Twilight and Starlight stare over at the group with slight confusion and intrigue. They must've heard the group talking, and saw me talking with them. I turned over to the man.
"Do you wish to meet my two friends?" The man nodded. I motioned over with my hand for the both of them to come over to where I stood, to which they both walked towards us, a little hesitant. As soon as they got close, I smiled at them and turned to the man. "I'd like you to meet Twilight-" I pointed to Twilight. "and Starlight." I pointed to Starlight.
The man gave me a curious expression. "You are friends with horses?"
"Ponies." Twilight said with a little smirk. The man looked over at her in surprise, his mouth hanging open a little.
"They can talk?" He asked.
I nodded my head. "Yes, they can. They are just like you and I, except not in human form."
"Have they come from an Anima?" He asked, staring at both of them curiously. I shook my head. Anima tree's were regarded as special trees. If one were trained in meditation, they supposedly could conjure that energy into other things, like magic. I never believed in such a thing, but seeing Twilight and Starlight use magic, I'm thinking otherwise.
"They arrived one day, and now they live with me." I stated. "They've been.. well, amazing."
The man nodded his head, before turning to me. "It was only a matter of time before you were given a blessing. You've blessed my people and I, and many others who you've traded with. You deserve some company."
"I don't think I've done anything to earn it, but I will say they have been a blessing." I said, glancing over to where Twilight and Starlight stood, only to notice that they were no longer there. With a quick scan around the caravan, I found them playing with the small children of the tribe. Twilight was playing with them the most, probably happy to have some other company than simple me. Starlight, on the other hand, was hesitant to join in with Twilight.
"Do you mind if me and my people stay here for a little while? We'll be gone before it becomes night, but it would be a good thing to let them rest. We have been walking for a long time. We are moving from our previous camp to another. It's not closer than the previous, but it will be better for my people and I."
I shook my head. "I wouldn't mind at all. You are always welcome here."
"Thank you." The man said, before turning to the rest of the caravan and walking off into the group, talking to them. I glanced back over to Twilight and Starlight. Twilight and Starlight were now playing some sort of.. stick game, with the children. I expected the parents of said children to be afraid or concerned, or even cautious of both Twilight and Starlight, but I suppose I had that much of an influence on them. If they were with me, they could be trusted, I suppose.
I shook my head with a smile, before I turned around and started to head back to the house. Starlight and Twilight could play with them as long as they'd like, and with the group, they weren't going to be in any trouble. It's good for them to converse with others, and to have a little fun. I'm not into playing around all that much, but I'm different than them. I'll let them have their fun while it lasts.
I made it to the door, and opened it slowly. I stepped inside and closed the door behind me, my hands aching. I did a damn good job today, but my hands and other parts of my body were definitely feeling the pain. I made it to my bed before I collapsed on top of it. With my muscles beginning to relax, I could feel the pain start to settle in even worse. I hated that feeling. The feeling of working all day, and laying down in a comfy mattress only to feel your back begin to relax. It's always painful.
I didn't fall asleep, and instead just buried my face into my pillow. I don't know how long I was there for, but I wasn't concerned with time at the moment. My mind drifted onto other thoughts.
You know, after being here for years, I've noticed I'm constantly thinking about things. Before, on the ship, I didn't have to think. It was mind-numbing, and there was always something to keep me distracted. But here, I'm constantly thinking of the future. I'm reviewing things in my head that I've reviewed hundreds of times over, and constantly thinking of the littlest things. I suppose it's not as big of a deal as I'm making it, but it's something that is strange to me.
After what felt like hours of simply laying on my bed, my face buried into my pillow, I heard the door open. I didn't even bother to check, as I heard the distinctive sound of hooves on the wooden floor instead of feet or shoes. It was a soft sound, each step having a feeling of being padded. I wonder what it must feel like to have fur. Is it like hair, just.. a lot of it? I'll never know, I suppose. Unless I turn into one of them.
Pffftt- could you imagine? I think it'd be cool, and yet terrifying both at the same time. I'd love and hate it.
I could feel a poke at my side. I flopped onto my back from where I laid, and looked at who'm the culprit was. Twilight stared back at me with a smirk. "I was just making sure you weren't dead."
"Oh, well thanks. You don't really have to worry about it. I'll send you a notice telling you before I do."
"Ah, good to know." I looked up ahead of me, to see Starlight laying on their bed. She was looking at both me and Twilight, giving us a slightly weird look.
"You two are close. Like.. the sass, and all that." She said, to which I gave a light chuckle to.
"When you're out here on your own, and your spending everyday together, you tend to become close. Especially when you got no other choice."
Starlight nodded. "I suppose."
"Hey-" I sat up in my bed. "How are you handling all of this?"
Starlight shrugged. "It feels like a dream and not reality. None of this feels real."
Twilight nodded. "I felt the same way. It'll go away after the first month." She said before hopping onto her bed with Starlight. "I hate that you're here, and I'm glad you're here. I'm glad because I get to see one of my friends again, but I hate it because you're just as stuck as I am. And, in a world that wants to kill us."
I chuckled. "Nah, It's just trying to... I dunno', butter us up."
"Mhm.. And that's why that cannibal came through to skin you?"
I shrugged. "Could've been worse."
"I suppose." Twilight said. "Also, when is that extension going to be done?"
I smiled. "I'd say another two hours or so, and I'm done. All we gotta' do after that, is to take down this wall. Then we'll have.. well, a lot more space. It was fine when I was just alone, but then you two just had to come and make yourselves at home, huh?" I said teasingly. Twilight shook her head with a smile.
"And what if I said I wanted to move out?"
"I'd block the door."
Twilight smirked. "Exactly." She opened her mouth to say something, but instead yawned loudly, shaking her head. "Jeez, I suppose we should all get to sleep, huh?"
Starlight tilted her head slightly. "It's not that late though."
I flipped onto my stomach and buried my face into my pillow. "Going to sleep early never hurt nobody." I could feel my body start to relax further, as I got that familiar feeling of falling. I suppose falling asleep almost instantly could be considered my superpower.
"Night." I could hear Twilight say, though it was muffled as my mind began to drift into sleep.
"Melissaaaaa~" I said with a groan. "Come on, come over just once. You haven't been over in ages!" I complained. Melissa shook her head with a smirk while cleaning a small glass, whipping her head to me.
"I already told you, I have a date."
"Bring 'em along."
"Rex, no."
"Melissaaaa~" I said with another groan. "We planned for this day to be a hangout day, didn't we? I already got that shipment of weird drinks in my room, along with some really good movies. We planned this like, a week ago!"
Melissa shrugged. "Well, the guy asked me out two days ago. And, if I'm lucky, he might be worth my time. We can always hangout sometime later, I promise."
I pouted like a child. "It was supposed to be today."
Melissa shook her head before setting the small glass onto the counter, and hanging up the little rag she used. She turned to me with a smile. "I asked Jake if it was cool for me to leave early to get ready for the date, and he said yeah. You don't mind working the last hour by yourself, do you?"
"You need an hour to get ready?"
"At minimum, yes."
I groaned. "Yeah, fine, yeah. It's not like if I said 'no' you'd change your mind all of a sudden. Go, and hey, don't put out on the first date!" I said whilst she was making her way away from the bar.
"You 'aint the boss of me!" She said sassily before she disappeared out of eyesight.
Each official in the Canterlot castle was on edge. The disappearance of Twilight Sparkle, even if some nobles didn't particularly like her, was terrifying. The fact that a princess could disappear without warning, and with no leads afterwards. Conspiracies were thrown about not even a day after the incident. This caused some speculations to go too far, and turn into a game of pointing hooves at eachother, as if it was going to solve something.
Celestia and Luna were tired after days and days of trying to figure out what happened. This wasn't just a simple issue of losing a faithful student, but the fact that somepony in a high political status could simply vanish. That alone was giving their ponies to question the safety the authority gave them, and both Celestia and Luna questioned themselves. How could they tell their precious ponies that they were safe, if they couldn't even keep one of their own princess' safe?
Luna lay in her bed, asleep from the tiresome night before she had.
It was time for the sun to fall, and the moon to rise, just like it had for years on end. Yet, Luna was not up yet. Even with tiresome days years before, she was always up to take her moon down. Celestia, standing outside her sisters chambers, shook her head. The entire situation had certainly gotten to them both. It was a stressful time indeed, more-so than any other time.
How could that be? They've fought beings such as Discord and Tirek, yet times have never felt so on edge as it did now. Celestia questioned as to why, and came to the conclusion that Discord and Tirek were obvious villains. Cozy Glow had been the only special case. However, now, there was nopony to point a hoof to. There was zero leads, zero proof, and zero time for relaxation.
Celestia slowly opened the door, stepping inside the large room inside. Luna's chambers were quite the opposite of her own, though that was to be expected. Instead of a bright shining sun on the ceiling, a crescent moon was present. Instead of bright colors of blue, green, and white, the walls adorned dark purples and blues, and the darkest black imaginable.
She made her way to her sisters bedside, and with her hoof, lightly shook Luna's side.
Luna's reaction to this was a quick awakening, thrusting herself upright with a loud gasp. Celestia took a step backwards, the sudden reaction from Luna causing her to scare a little. With a couple quick breaths, Luna turned to Celestia and gave her a glare. "Why do you wake me up, sister?"
"Luna, you've slept in. It's time for you to put the moon in the sky, and for me to take down the su-"
"A couple of minutes past our required awakening isn't that big of a deal, sister. With all that is going on, all that surrounds us, we- I am not able to get a couple more minutes of sleep?"
Celestia gave a sigh, not interested in arguing with her sister so early. "Our ponies will see us as lazy. If we are not able to get up at a set time, how can we expect our ponies to do the same? Royalty requires diligence."
Luna groaned, getting off the large bed and floating a comb over to herself, brushing her hair. "With how things have changed, I thought you would've been the one to be a little lax on these things. You speak informal, you present yourself much more informal than before, and you are informal. Yet, sleep is what bothers you?"
"Luna, I understand you're not in the best moo-"
"You're doing nothing by waking me up right now. What did you accomplish? Did you really think ponies would line up in the streets because of a few minutes? Instead of worrying about how much sleep I'm getting, why don't you worry about your student?"
That, was a low blow.
Celestia groaned. "Sister, do not go there. It is stressful times as it is, and you shouldn't be saying such disrespectful things like that. You are better than that, Luna."
"Am I? Seems all I seem to do is stress you out, and try to kill you, huh?"
"What?"
Luna, finally finished with brushing her hair, levitated the brush to its rightful place. "You heard me."
"Is that what is troubling you, sister? You're still upset about what happened a thousand years ago? When you were banished? It's been a long time since you've come back, I thought you got over it!"
Luna laughed, though it wasn't one of joy. "Really? Celestia, I have no friends. I only have acquaintances, and you. Even Twilight and her friends can't be considered friends. They're more like coworkers than friends. You expect me to be happy when I have nopony to talk to? The most amount of interaction I've truly had, are these two weeks. And all it's been with is political figures, and the general. It's sad, for an Alicorn princess to be this way, don't you think?"
Celestia shook her head. "No! I would never think that!"
"That's what you thought when you banished me. 'Oh, my sister is nothing but a lonesome nobody.' I could see it in you, Celestia. I never had the guts to confront you until now."
"Luna, the stress has gotten to you. You don't mean any of this. It's been hard for everypo-"
I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling above me. The air around me felt like jelly, and the solid walls around me felt like water. The cushion underneath me felt... weightless? I can't explain it, but it sure felt weird. I heaved myself upright, but I did so extremely.. easy.
Even with going to sleep, I felt more tired than I have been in a long, long time. Sure, everyday I was tired. Yet, today felt different. It felt like something was crawling underneath my skin, like there was something inside me preventing me from waking up fully. Like, convincing my brain to still be asleep somehow.
Oh god...
Realizing what was happening, I quickly stood to my feet and practically flew into storage, finding a bottle of medicinal pills. There was a small piece of paper glued onto the bottle, which resembled that of a tiny bug with what seemed to be robotic limbs. Yep, this was the stuff. I was lucky to have bought these a long while ago when it happened the first time. What exactly is happening to me, you ask?
Mechanites.
Damn little buggers find a way inside you, into your bloodstream. It causes you to be super fucking tired, but in return, you move extremely fast, and can do shit pretty fast too. It is still pretty painful though, so I don't exactly like having it around. No matter what the fuck gives me supersonic speed, I'd rather stay normal without the throbbing headache for days on end.
Hopefully, this medicine will kill the little buggers off quick.
"Rex?" I heard Twilight's voice from the main room. Practically running to the doorway and poking my head out of said doorway, I nodded to her. "What.. are you doing up so early?"
Was it really early? I wasn't able to tell.
"I needed medicine. I think I'm sick." I responded. I didn't want to go into detail about the mechanites. Knowing Twilight, she'd probably freak out, or get so interested that she'd try to pull one of the damn things from my bloodstream. Giving a vague, yet true answer was the winning idea.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm alright. Just going to be a little more pissed off than usual."
"Aren't you always pissed off?"
"You're missing the point." I said with a groan, entering into the room and making my way back to my bed, taking a seat. I could already feel my body wanting to lay down and curl up into the blankets, and to sleep for days on end without being disturbed. But, both I and those little mechanite shits know that's not happening. The house is almost done, and with a few more steps and taking down a wall, I'll have my own private room. Twilight and Starlight can share their own, they're small enough.
But having my own room.. Jesus, that's going to be a godsend.
Now, don't get me wrong. I like Twilight and all, and I'm sure Starlight is going to be great, but I hate hearing their damn hooves kick the wall in the middle of the night! Plus, it's just awkward sleeping in the same room as them. What if I wanted to sleep naked, and to live peacefully under the sheets? Yeah, that'd be a fucking nightmare.
"Well, do you think you'll be able to finish the house today?" Twilight said, now fully sitting on her bed. Starlight was beside her, still knocked out. "If you can't, that's fine. Everyone needs rest when they're sick."
"Nah. I'll get it done. I might not be too thrilled about working on it, but it needs to be done. I've worked on bigger, and worse projects, while being way more sick than I am right now. I'll be fine, as long as nothing goes wrong. Oh, and I say that with great expectations!" I said sarcastically. Truth be told, I'm probably going to be fucking a lot of things up.
"Alright then. As usual, me and Starlight will probably be figuring out what we can research based on old blueprints in storage. There's a lot of interesting stuff. We found one about a 'nutrient pas-"
"No." I said, cutting her off. "Did you read the little tag that was on the blueprint?"
Twilight looked down, a little defeated. "Y-yeah, but it could still be worth investing our time into!"
"As I said, no. I am not eating liquefied snot, no matter how much you try to convince me. I'd rather snort luciferium."
Twilight gave me a questioning look. I shook my head, giving a sigh. "Nevermind. I'll get started on breakfast."
Canterlot
Even after Celestia spent an hour looking for her sister, she came up with nothing. The moon was up in the sky, and her own sun had been put away. Not by her own magic, mind you. Her sister must have been so upset, she didn't want to do the same ritual they had kept doing ever since her return, and, even before her banishment. This deeply troubled Celestia, knowing that her sister was willing to break a sacred ceremony. This wasn't ordinary anger from Luna.
This was the same anger she felt before she was banished.
"Oh, Luna..." Celestia murmured to herself whilst gazing at the night sky. Even though she was considered the Solar princess, she loved every second of the night. It was calming, unlike the daytime. The day was always filled with uncertainty, and with bustling noise. It was associated with the awakening of the towns, and the start of everypony's morning. The night, on the other hand, was symbolized as calm. It was when everypony went to sleep, to get a nice rest before the next day of bustling activities. It was the perfect sendoff to a perfect day.
"You're still up."
Celestia turned her head slightly to the sound of Luna's voice, as Luna joined her on the balcony.
"I am."
Luna gave an angered sigh. "Why?"
"Just enjoying the night sky. I'm sure you can relate."
Luna shook her head. "You never cared for it before. Stop acting like you do, just because I'm upset. Stop caring to make things easier on yourself. The fact that I'm angry, makes you uneasy, and now you're diving deep into the book of trickery just to make me feel better."
"You're reading too much into it, Luna."
Luna laughed. "Am I? Am I really? I've only ever talked to you and seen you stare at the night sky a couple of times, and you've told me how beautiful it was. But each time felt fake. I think you and plastic have much more in common than you think."
Celestia didn't let the insult get to her. "The moon itself is almost as bright as the sun, when in the night sky."
"You're diving deep, Celestia. Don't drown."
With that, Luna walked away from the balcony, off to attend the several meetings concerning the safety of the kingdom and their ponies. Off to attend several meetings of pointless things that common-folk always considered to be 'important.' Off to attend the life of a Princess.
A life, which has little to do with living.
"Come on, you fucking piece of shit!"
I was getting really, really annoyed. First, I finished taking down the wall. Everything was literally set. The rooms were done, and it was all just sitting there ready to be used but- the damn power cable won't come through the floorboard! Its like everytime I go down there to look for it, its right where it should be. Yet when I go back up, it fucking disappears!
I did not get up super fucking early, only to work five hours on this bullshit and have it all fuck up because of a cord.
And yes, I originally estimated twenty or so minutes until it was done. Boy, was I wrong. Foundation wasn't leveled correctly on some area's, so I had to correct that. Had to make sure that the foundation was actually solid on the outside, which was more of a pain than usual. Seriously, getting rain stuck underneath your floorboards and rotting your wood is not a fun time.
I reached my hand underneath the floorboards one last time and yanked on a cord, pulling it straight through. I then connected it to the power port underneath, and voila! We now had power to the extension.
Starlight clopped her hooves together in celebration behind me. She seemed to have gotten bored with Twilight's research stuff, which I found to be weird since she seems like the type to be into that, and instead watched me. She didn't help much, but I told her not to. She would only get in the way, and piss me off more. That'd be bad for all of us.
"See, through trial and error, you finally did it." Starlight said with a cheery voice.
"Yeah, yeah, shutup. I swear, the fucking thing was invisible or some shit."
"If you just let me use my magi-" She sang in a sing-song voice before I cut her off.
"No. This is more my thing. You and big-brain over there are more for the research stuff." I then pointed to myself. "Handyman." Then pointed to her. "Scientist."
"So you'd rather subject yourself to tough, physical work?"
I shrugged. "No, not really, but I know how to do it and I'm pretty decent. Instead of being a baby about it and complaining that I have to do it, and that I want to do something else, I could just get it over with. What the hell is the point of being a literal bitch if it makes no difference?"
"I.. suppose you're right. But, you know you don't have to do everything yourself."
"I know. I'm mainly the hunter, and builder, and.. I guess cook as well. Hey, you good at making clothes?"
"Not really..."
I stood up, sliding the floorboard back into its rightful place with my foot. "I'll teach you. It's decently easy, and I definitely ain't the best at it. What about cooking?"
"I can cook some things, but meat... I have no idea how to do any of that."
"Pretty easy. Most stuff is just cook 'till its brown, and throw in some salt and pepper. Throw some more shit together and wham, you got food."
Starlight giggled. "I'm sure its harder than that."
"Pft, nah. You'll be fine, I know it. Now, go tell that egghead in storage to come and look."
Starlight seemed to flinch at my words slightly. Shaking her head lightly to herself, she got up and went over to storage. I took a few steps back to look at the extension, and I've gotta say... I've really out-fuckin-done myself. God, It looks amazing! I never really needed to build anything because it was just me, but given these new circumstances, I was finally able to put creativity to use.
Not like I'm the insanely creative type. I'm pretty boring.
"Ah, so the roof didn't collapse on you!" I heard from behind me. Turning around, I saw both Twilight and Starlight stand before me.
"Oh, haha. You know, I can take the doors off your bedroom, you know."
"And what would that accomplish?"
"Imagine a creepy, stalker creature, all black, slinking across the doorway. It's eyes peered at you only for a second, and it's gone. You can only watch from your bed as it-"
"Okay, okay! Stop!" Twilight yelled, shaking her head before giving me a glare. "You could've just laughed at the joke.."
"I could've, but what's the fun in that?"
Twilight shook her head, and walked past me. Starlight followed her. She stopped in the middle of the hallway, looking at each doorway before looking over to me. I pointed to the left doors, and she nodded. Once she stepped in, she gasped. "Oh- Rex! This is amazing!"
"I know right? So much more space! I'm actually so proud of myself."
"And.. you managed to build another bed, for me?" Starlight asked as I followed them inside their room.
"I needed a break from the constant bullshit with the power cords, so.."
"How did you do it so fast? I wasn't there when you did that."
I shrugged. "Let's just say a little robotic bug helped me out."
"You sure you took pills for medicine, and not the other kind?" Starlight asked, before giving me a light smile. She turned back to gaze at the rest of the room. It was decently large, with two beds in the middle, split by a nightstand that the both of them would share. There was a table in the corner with two chairs, for themselves, and a light in the other corner. Including- a dresser.
"Okay, seriously, how did you build all this stuff?" Starlight asked again. "This is a lot more than just a simple bed."
I shrugged again. "The universe will never know."
"What about your room?" Twilight asked, stepping past me to go investigate my own room. Starlight and I followed her in. It was the same size as theirs, though instead of two beds it was just one. There was a table as well, with only one seat, and the potted plant that Twilight had gave me was sitting in the other corner.
"Didn't really do much in terms of making the two rooms like any different, did you?" Twilight asked.
"Look, you can decorate your room however the hell you like. It's your room. Just because I like to live spartan doesn't mean you have to. By all means, go make your own furniture!" I said sarcastically, giving them a playful smirk. Starlight shook her head.
"You know we can't do that, right?"
"That's the point, dumbass."
Canterlot
Luna hated spending time in night-court. Sure, she used to be glad that she was back on duty to being a Princess. All those lonesome years on the moon had made her appreciate her return, and glad that she was able to be accepted at all. But, now, she hated it. She hated being a Princess, and all of the aspects that came with it. Even with Celestia and Luna both telling Twilight before that she would become the next Princess, the next Princess is missing.
She was currently listening to a pony complaining about... what was it, boats? Boat sales? She didn't even care, and she didn't act like she did. Instead of faking a smile, or faking a royal appearance, she leaned herself against the throne, letting her hoof hold her chin up as she listened to the pony drone on and on.
She was sure of one thing. She wasn't fond of her sister, in the slightest, in recent times. She loved her still, but that didn't mean she liked her. The fact that Twilight went missing was extremely bad on all nobles, and both of themselves. The fact they couldn't keep a royal from going missing, was catastrophic. If they couldn't protect a royal, how could they protect the little ponies?
Yet, Celestia was working day in and day out just like Luna was. Yet, it still felt... as if she didn't care for her student. As if she wasn't really feeling anything. Her sister felt less like a sister, and more of a manager. Somepony who is perceived as emotionless, and could care less about their employee's feelings. Luna felt like the employee.
How could it be, that Celestia's student going missing hurt Luna more than Celestia herself? That logic in itself didn't make sense. It's not like she knew her longer, or that she hung-out with her more. Yet, it still hit her more, atleast in a more obvious manner than Celestia.
Perhaps it was because Twilight was the first person to accept her, other than her own sister? Twilight wasn't exactly a close friend, but a coworker of sorts. Yet, with having no friends or connections, even a coworker felt more like a friend than anything else. That's sad, isn't it?
Atleast, Luna thought so.
I was already ready to go to sleep. Hell, I didn't even need to eat dinner. These mechanites were making quick work of me, and if I didn't go to bed soon, I would pass out in the middle of walking. I really didn't want to hit my head and cut myself open, so I went to go say goodnight to the two of them before I went and hit the hay. Heh, hay.
"Twilight, Starlight, I'm going to bed." I said as I opened their bedroom door. Starlight was sitting on her bed, whilst Twilight sat on her own. They seemed to have been talking before I walked in. "Sorry, am I intruding?"
"No, no." Twilight said, shaking her head. "You're fine. Goodnight, Rex. I hope you feel better tomorrow."
"Yeah, you should get some sleep. Rest is really required when you're sick."
I nodded my head. "Yeah. I'll see you two tomorrow, alright? Don't be afraid to wake me up though, incase something happens." With the both of them nodding their heads, I shut their door and headed straight into my room. As soon as I made it to my bed, I collapsed onto it. God, I felt dead.
But, I still felt insanely proud. Probably the most proud I've been since I've gotten here! The only thing that came close to that, was building those turrets outside. That was a pain in the ass, but I went off pre-existing blueprints. This whole extension was just me, and my creativity. And, I'm surprised I got it done as fast as I did.
Doing the finishing touches was much faster though, with these damn robotic mechanites inside me. They might've just been a blessing in disguise, who knows. If I didn't have them, I'd probably still be working my ass off for four more hours. As much as I'm proud of what I built, building it wasn't filled with fun times. So, I'm glad I got it done as fast as I did. Thanks, mechanites.
I could feel my body drift off to that all-too familiar dream state. The one where your body begins to float, and you feel like you're falling through millions of clouds in a freefall? That one. I loved that feeling, honestly. Despite what my thoughts were previously, now I find it calming. A soothing sensation. Like, I'm falling through heaven.
A surging pain was sent down my spine, which caused me to awake instantly. I sat up, though a bit too fast.
"What the fuck..?" I whispered to myself, feeling my back with my hand. There was nothing there, but it did hurt just a second ago. The pain disappeared as soon as it came, which was odd. I shook my head, thinking nothing of it. "Probably just them mechanites." I told myself. That was best case scenario, wasn't it?
I stood up from my bed and made my way out into the hallway. From what I could tell, it was still night time. Atleast, that's what I thought from the crickets outside still making their annoying sounds. I was tempted to wake the both of them up, but I decided against it. Just because I couldn't sleep, didn't mean they shouldn't.
Making my way into what was now the living room while scratching the back of my neck, I tried to think of things to do. I was still tired, but my sleep schedule was already fucked. Going back to sleep would just make me more needlessly tired. I took a seat on the now living room table, and kept my head up with my hand under my chin.
I guess the next best thing would be building those hydroponics, huh?
We got some basins already made, we just need a little building to put them in. A greenhouse, essentially. The only thing I've been worrying about with that plan is the power consumption. From what I've read from those notes, they take quite a bit of power. And, one isn't able to sustain all of us, we'll have to build multiple. Plus, the sun lamp required for it takes a lot too. I really didn't want to risk short-circuiting the damn place, or running my cords too hot. The whole damn place is made of wood!
"What to do.." I said aloud, my eyes dancing across the small designs in the wood. The little marks and indents in each little piece. Am I the only one that used to stare at walls, with the popcorn like texture, and see faces? As a kid, I used to see all that all the time. Faces, or whole people, or strange symbols. It was probably my mind entertaining itself, but still, interesting nonetheless.
You know what? I'm taking a couple days off.
Yeah, that's right. A couple days off, with doing no work. Working for two years and then some really kicks a man in the ass, and I think I deserve a much needed break. Especially with this sickness. Twilight and Starlight can both take their own breaks too if they'd like, but I'm taking one no matter what. I just want to laze about for awhile.
Speaking of the ponies currently living in my house, they've really grown on me.
I can still remember the days when I was alone, and afraid. But ever since Twilight has come into the picture, it's just been... so much better. She's literally turning into a mini-me, which I cant tell if that's a good thing or not. Probably not, but whatever. She's adorable, she's smart, and hell, she's sassy recently. She's also extremely helpful, but I know that something is eating away at her.
She would never say it, but I know it's true.
The realization that she's stuck here with me, is killing her. She doesn't show it, but I can see little glimpses of it in her eyes. That was the same damn look I had. And, honestly, i'm glad she's here with me, but I don't want her here. In the sense that I wish she didn't have to experience what she is experiencing now. That innocence is still there, but it's questioning itself. She killed that man, and hasn't said a word about it. I know from experience that killing someone for the first time is a huge eye-opener.
It's something you don't walk away from. It's with you forever.
I wish I could protect that innocence, but I know that if she stays here longer it'll be gone eventually. The Rim robs everyone of that. Hell, you could be the greatest human being in all of existence, and you'll still end up becoming a degenerate piece of shit eventually when you're on the rim.
Like me.
Starlight is still new, but I think she's fitting in really well. I think having Twilight being here helped her alot. Twilight was so scared when she first got here, but Starlight was able to transition pretty smoothly. Having someone else of the same species, and a friend at that, is comforting. I'm happy she isn't going crazy.
But I don't think she's fully grasped the concept of this world. Sure, we've told her. But she won't believe it until it happens in front of her, or to her. However, I feel like she'd probably be able to handle it better than Twilight. Or, maybe not. Who the fuck knows, right? It hasn't happened yet, and I ain't no fortune teller.
"Rex?" I heard a sleepy Twilight ask from behind me. She honestly scared the shit out of me. I jumped, and turned around to her.
"Oh.. Hey, Twilight. I didn't think you'd be up this early?"
"Neither did I... but something felt off."
"I know the feeling all too well." I said with a chuckle. She pulled the chair next to me out with her magic, and took a seat right on top of it. I could see that she was pretty tired, but she had a slight smile on her face. "I'm assuming you and Starlight had fun in your own room?"
"Being able to finally talk to one another privately is... well, amazing."
"Oh, and what secrets would you be keeping from me?"
Twilight giggled, shaking her head. "You wouldn't want to know them, trust me."
"Oh, now how would you know if you've never told me?"
"Believe me, Rex."
"Nah."
The room fell silent for a few moments before both of us began to laugh. We were definitely getting that natural high from sleep deprivation. You know the one, where you always laugh at everything, and you know you should be asleep but you keep just making shit up to laugh at? That one.
"So.." I started. "I've been thinking about taking a break from doing stuff. Like, just lazing about for a couple of days."
"Really? You were the one that was always for getting stuff done, even at the expense of sleep or... whatever."
"Yeah." I nodded. "But, recently I've just been so tired of working my ass off that I just want to, I don't know, chill out. It's been a couple years since I've done that. It's been nonstop hard work since then, and I honestly hate it. I mean, who wouldn't, but still, that's not the point."
"Rex, if you feel like you need to take a break, take one. I'm all for your health." Twilight said with a genuine smile, her eyes widening slightly. It was honestly adorable, and the only response I could give was light laughter.
"Thank you, Twilight." I said back with a smile.
"Uhngh.." A groan came from the hallway. I didn't turn to look at her, because I already knew who it was.
"You aren't a morning person, are you?" I asked. All I got in response back was another groan.
Starlight pulled out a seat in front of us, plopping herself right ontop of it and slumping over the table. "It's too early..."
"Then.. go back to bed?" I suggested.
"You two are louder thank you think. Your cackling would've kept me up no matter what, so I might as well be here." Starlight said, shaking her head before thumping her forehead onto the table. "I bet the sun isn't even up yet..."
"Go outside and look." Twilight said, to which Starlight shook her head again.
"Noooo... That requires moving."
"Then stop complaining." Twilight said with a smirk, turning her attention back to me. "Can I ask you a question, Rex?"
Caught off guard by the sudden question, I nodded my head slowly. "Uh, sure, yeah."
"What do you think about?"
...
Huh?
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well, I always see you stare off into space for long periods of time. When we eat and we aren't talking, you sit there and sometimes just do nothing. I see it all the time, almost everyday. I can see the gears in your head turn, but I don't know what any of it means."
I gave a chuckle. She really was attentive, wasn't she? Noticing something small such as that. "Honestly, Twilight. I think about everything. Every damn topic you could think of, switching from one to the other, then back to the original. My brain is always firing, and sometimes it bothers me. I think about all sorts of stuff, Twilight."
"Is there anything in particular?"
Another weird question. "Mainly just things I want to do for the day. Like, if there's a project, I run it over and over in my head. Look at all the logical answers to it, and then some. Other then that, it's either about my own life, or about you guys."
That seemed to perk Starlight's ears up.
"What do you mean, about us?" Twilight asked, having the same quizzical look from before.
"Eh, I dunno. Just, stuff. You guys are my friends, right? Atleast, I'd like to hope so. Whether you guys are safe, or what you're thinking or, hell, honestly whatever. You're a pretty big part of my life now. Both of you."
Twilight nodded, staring off into space. Starlight didn't move her head at all, and simply remained still. After a few moments passed, Twilight looked back to me. "One more weird question."
I groaned. "Yes, your highness?"
"What was it like when you were growing up? Like, as a kid and all that. You don't really talk about any of that stuff."
"And there's a reason to that. You drown out the pain by not acknowledging it."
"Oh..."
...
Oh for fucks sake, I hate the silence.
"Fine. I'll tell you, but it's not a happy story, and I ain't explaining every fucking detail either."
"That's fine!" Twilight said, sitting straight up in her seat with a smile on her face.
"Where do I begin.."
Tucson Town-Ship
Living on a ship for most of your life, you begin to pick up on things that those living on solid ground usually don't. First off, alien species were pretty common. Most were humanoid in nature, but still were alien enough to be looked at weird, or even discriminated against in the town.
Oh, yeah. The ship was a town, as well.
It housed a good, i'd say, fifty thousand people? It was pretty big, and had it's own small fleet of fighters incase of any attacks, but that usually never happened. Each section, and each floor of said section, were divided by class. Usually, by wealth status. I happened to be on the bottom.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that the bottom section were absolutely poor, and had nothing, and always struggled for money. No, it was more like we still had living quarters, and stable food, but no luxuries. Well, whatever luxury money we did have, my father always spent. But, I still had good enough clothes to go to school, and didn't have to worry about starving at night.
The ship had little quarters you could buy as property, and set up a little shop or whatever at. It was very community-economy based. The currency we used were called 'Tulips,' after the flower. Each coin had a small insignia of a tulip ingrained onto it, and it was honestly pretty cool looking.
School was pretty fun. I took a lot of construction classes, because I was pretty interested in that. I thought if I was able to one day get onto a planet to live on with, I don't know, a family, I'd be able to build my own house. I remember telling my eleven year old self that I'd be the 'best handyman to ever live.' God, I was ambitious, wasn't I?
I also took one cooking class, but it was pretty basic, and all I learned was 'if meat is brown, its done.'
My family was an interesting situation. It was my father, my mother, and my mothers mother, or my grandma. Grandma was a sweet old lady, and I loved her to death. She was asian, just like my mother, and she cooked amazing food. If it weren't for her food, I bet you I wouldn't have the amazing taste that I have now! (Joking, of course.)
My mother was a brown haired short woman of asian descent. She's the reason my last name is Rice. Unlike traditional marriage, marriage on the ship didn't switch out the mothers last name for the fathers, and the parents decided what last name to put on the child. It was either Rice, or Muldock. I'm glad I'm named after a plant.
My father was a black haired, chubby white man. He really deteriorated over time. I remember in my earliest years of living, he was so kind and full of energy, until something happened. I still don't know to this day, and honestly, I don't think I want to. Whatever it was, caused my father to take up drinking as a coping mechanism. Everyday would be a new drink.
"Hey boy, come here!" He would tell me. I would run up to the couch, and he'd pick me up and set me beside him. He'd press the clear bottle up to my nose, forcing me to sniff it. "You smell that? That's good!"
"It smells like medicine papa." I would tell him.
"Ah, you just haven't gotten an acquired taste yet! Here-" I remember my father forcing my mouth open to drink what I now know to be vodka. And, not a little bit. It was constant, and I remember getting sick on that couch almost everyday afterschool, and feeling sick in the morning. He pushed that onto me nearly everyday.
My mother and father always had fights about it.
"Stop giving him that shit, Michael! You're making him sick!"
"Shut yer' fuckin' mouth!" My dad would slur. "He's myy- my son too."
"Can't you tell you're hurting him?"
"The boy needs to learn how to handle his liquor, thas' all!"
I remember hating my father more and more each day.
Refusing him was never a good idea. I knew that if I refused, he'd start to get rough. Whether that meant grabbing me by my collar, or beating me until I felt like I was going to die, only to pour the rest of the bottle onto me while I laid on the floor. Refusing also led to my mom getting angry and yelling at him, and that caused him to hurt her too.
Refusing him wouldn't only hurt me, but also her.
After my father would keep me drinking with him on the couch, my grandma would pull me into her own little room and feed me little pellets. I don't really know what they were, but they definitely helped with the sickness at night and in the morning. She would rub my cheeks, and give me a wrinkled smile. "Do you know why you're apart of the rice family, Rex?"
I would shake my head.
"Because all it takes is one little rice crop for a kingdom to flourish. You're going to be the start of something new."
I always smiled at that. Even with my father being as violent and terrible as he was, it made me feel like I wasn't as shit as he made me feel. Which, he made me feel like shit nearly everyday. Years on end were just torment, and I absolutely hated it. I would take up sports just to go to afterschool practices to get away from home.
But, if I was away from home, I couldn't protect mom.
I quit sports. Everyday during practice, I felt sick to my stomach thinking about what was happening to her. And, usually, my feelings were right. Sometimes I'd come home to her crying in their closet, with red bloody marks all over her. Sometimes, I'd see her passed out on the couch, completely naked, and drugged out her mind.
He forced all of that.
I remember when I was seventeen, I had enough. After another stressful day at school, and just finishing the job I had at a nearby construction place, I found myself not being able to take his bullshit anymore. And, I had grown quite strong over time.
He on the other hand turned into a fat lazy fuck. Obese, for sure. The drinking didn't help with that.
I opened the door to my house, taking off my backpack as I entered, only to hear those same words. "Hey boy! Come here!"
I reluctantly followed the sound into the living room, only to see my fat father sitting on the couch, with multiple drinks on the small table that sat beside it. In front of him was a T.V, playing my schools football match. "Hey, why the hell you quit? You coulda' done somethin' useful or some shit. Go and sign up for the damn thing again. I could use some fuckin' entertainmen- you FUMBLED THE FUCKING THING!" He yelled at the T.V, groaning loudly only to turn his attention back onto me.
"Look, dad, I'd really like to just sit in my room and finish my homewo-"
"Shut the fuck up and take this." He presented me with a yellow bottle, the logo of a random company on the front of it. "Come on, take it you fuckin' dipshit! My arm is gettin' tired."
I picked up the yellow bottle, feeling something surge through my body as I did so. It was... anger? No. Sadness? No, no that either. It was...
Pure hatred.
I tipped the bottle upside down and poured it onto the floor, which my dad watched me do with wide open eyes. "What in the FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!" Without giving him another second to say anything, I threw the bottle at his head, hearing the sound of breaking glass upon his head. He gave a moan of pain, and I could start to see blood already leak from his head.
My mother came out of their room, and watched. "Wha-"
I didn't wait. Instead, I went straight for the kitchen and grabbed a knife, easily the size of my forearm. My dad watched me with wide eyes, still dazed from the bottle I threw at his head. Without thinking, I pounced on him, stabbing the knife deep into his throat multiple times.
I'll never forget those gurgling sounds that came from him. I could hear 'stop' faintly between each gurgle, but I didn't listen. I continued, and kept continuing well after I knew he was dead. I went from his throat to his body, then stabbed his eye with the knife, leaving it there.
I was covered in blood, and I just sat there, looking at my dad. He was alive only a minute ago... and all I did was yell. Scream, or whatever the hell it was. It was something inhuman, it felt like. Almost like a demon, laughing loudly in its success. Like the devil had taken over my body to scream in victory, and thank me for doing such a deed.
I looked at my mom, who stared at me, her eyes wide.
She called the authorities on me after she ran outside the house for help. I was arrested that night, while my mother cried over her dead husband, my dead father. I don't know what I was thinking, but I just... did it. I hated him, every fiber of my being hated him, and I just knew I had to get it over with.
I was put in a community cell with some other inmates. I was stone-faced, and when one of them asked me what I did, I simply told them. "I killed my father." That seemed to surprise most, but a few were simply unfazed by it. Most likely having done something the same, or worse.
I remember that an inmate asked me: "If you had the chance to go back, would you do it again?"
I thought about that. I ran all the possibilities in my head. If I didn't, he would've kept drinking, and probably killed me or my mother. He was constantly buying off the shelf drinks from blackmarket dealers, and was constantly laced with stuff. He drugged my mom and had sex with her on the couch in front of me without a care in the world. He was scum, he was a degenerate, and he should've been obliterated.
"Yes."
I was told by the judge a couple days later that they gave my mother permission to decide my fate. I sat there in a court room, with my jumpsuit on, and watched my mother cry in the booth away from me, along with my grandmother, who I had never seen so sad or upset.
She told them to let me be free, but to ship me off on the next available incoming trade vessel that came by.
My mom was disowning me.
I was forced to walk past her as the guards escorted me, to which she stepped in front of me, stopping my walk. Tears kept falling from her face, and she shook her head, her fists clenched. "You will always be my son. Always..."
"But I never want to see you again."
That, was the last thing I heard from my mother. I was allowed to go back into the house to grab my things, and to put my clothes on, and then I was to be shipped off in the next incoming ship. That next incoming trade-vessel happened to be the J.U.L.I.A.S, a very famous trade ship known for being a half town-ship have trade-ship. It originally started off as a trade-ship though.
It was gigantic, much more than the Tucson.
I was forced onto it by guards, and left to my own devices. I was confused, and scared, and... well, angry. My own mother just sent me off on some random trade ship, to possibly die off somewhere. Why? Because she loved her husband, the abusive piece of bullshit that he was, instead of me.
Or, maybe not... I really don't know why she did it. But, all I know is...
I'm pretty sure she thought I was a monster.
I managed to get a painters job on that ship, and I was homeless for a bit. I slept on stairs most of the time, and everyday I would wake up to go to my shitty little job. They gave me a little brush with some white paint and said 'hey, go do this.' And, most of the time I was yelled at for not doing a good job. I don't know how I fucked any of it up, I think they were honestly just being asses.
I was nineteen when I finally got the job as a bartender. I thought it was the perfect job for me.
My father set me up for that. All those nights drinking along with him, testing out every combination of drinks imaginable, was what set me up to be a bartender. I suppose what hurt me the most also benefited me in some way. I fucking hated that.
I got myself my own apartment, and things went off from there.
"And.. thats it. I don't really feel like explaining the other stuff. Maybe sometime else."
The room was dead silent, and it was a good two, or possibly even three hours after I had initially started talking. That was mostly because I kept pausing, thinking back on the events, which took several minutes at a time. Both Twilight and Starlight had old tear-streaks from their eyes, but they were gone for the most part now.
Twilight simply stared at me, her mouth open a little, and her eyes shrinking slightly. "Rex... I..." She sniffled, rubbing her nose with a hoof. "I had no idea." Starlight across from me was slumpt, but staring up at me with sad eyes. I could tell I definitely ruined the day already with telling them my story.
"Most don't, but it's fine. I'm fine, right?" I said with a smile, though i'm sure they knew it was fake. I cleared my throat and shook my head, standing up. "Ah, oh boy.. I need some air, or some.. stuff, I don't know. I'll be back, okay?" I made my way for the door.
"Rex wai-"
I shut the door on Twilight's voice, and looked up into the sky. That little haze of the morning was just appearing. Honestly, my favorite part of the morning. That beautiful shine in the sky, mixed with the darkness of the night before make for a fantastic view. I shook my head, looking down at the floor.
How was mom doing?
I could only imagine. Either she passed away, or is still living with grandma. It's been so long now... I almost don't remember her face. It's a blur to me, and I feel like shit for not being able to remember my own mothers face. Which, is ironic, because I still remember my fathers. When he was an ugly piece of shit, and when there was a knife sticking out of his face.
I could feel myself begin to hyperventilate.
Tears began to run down my face. I wasn't one to cry, nearly at all. I dealt with all that pain before, and was able to get by just fine. I made amazing friends, and had a good job. I lived a decent life up on that ship, and I'm proud that I was able to move past my... well, past.
I could feel my knee's begin to weaken, only for them to buckle and allow me to fall onto them.
My body thrusted itself forward, and I sat on my hands and knee's staring at the dirt below. Tear's continued to pour from my eyes, and my hyperventilation increased. Was I having a panic attack? Or, was I just... remembering all those painful memories of the past?
I hated hearing myself cry.
It was a moan, and each few seconds a gulp of air would be taken in. I would cough slightly, and I'd force my eyes shut with that burning sensation behind my eye-lids. This is precisely why I hated crying. I could feel something against my back, but I didn't pay attention to it.
I felt like I was going to die. I felt like my heart was going to pump out of my chest, and that I would seize up into a little ball. I was definitely having a panic attack.
I could feel my body being pulled into something soft. I looked up to see what it was, and... embarrassingly enough, it was Twilight. Her wing was draped over me, and she had pulled me in. Her eyes were closed, and she gave off a soft hum while she sat with my underneath her.
I could feel something stepping to the other side of me, and assumed it was Starlight. I didn't check though, because I was comfortable and... safe, underneath Twilight's wing. I didn't feel like the weight of the world was crushing me all at once. I felt like I was sitting in my grandma's room, hugging her tightly after another night of terrible drinking.
I wanted to speak, but all that would come out was choked gasps for air while I continued to cry. It took a couple of tries, but I finally got something out. Something that I've been telling myself for awhile now, and I never realized why I said it.
I held him underneath me for quite some time, with Starlight on the other side of him.
When he explained what happened when he was young, he said it like there was not a single problem. As if he was used to such torment in his life. It felt disturbing the further he continued, and I feared if there was something wrong, since he didn't seem to shed any emotion.
That was, until he was done.
Once he finished, I could see it in his eyes that it suddenly caught up to him. When he closed that door behind him, I just knew what was going to happen. I've been there before too, but I believe this is from PTSD. The traumatic events that he's lived with since he was young, and then being forced to live on a planet such as this, has probably cemented those events so deep into his memory. And, each time he thinks about it in great detail, I'm sure this happens.
I've never seen, or felt Rex shake like this before.
I pulled him in underneath me, but since then he's pulled himself further into my fur. I didn't do anything except sit there. Moving, or pulling away wasn't the right thing to do, and it's not like I wanted to move either. The beautiful display of the sun coming up over the horizon was mesmerizing. I watched both Rex, and the sunrise.
Rex had stopped crying about twenty or so minutes into it.
I could tell it wasn't because he ran out of tears, or felt better. I could hear him choke from holding in his breath, to stop his crying. I knew what he was thinking at that moment. Rex was always the one to keep a straight-face, even if it meant suppressing his true feelings. I've heard himself mutter to himself all the time, about how he's a 'dumbass,' or an 'idiot.' He is thinking that right now. I know of it.
I turned to look at Starlight, who looked to me. She had a worried look in her eyes, a little confused on the situation, and concerned. I gestured my head back to the door, saying she could go back in if she wanted to, which she nodded and quietly went back inside. I'm sure it was uncomfortable for her. She doesn't know Rex, not as much as I know him. So, I don't think she's comfortable with this sort of open, and vulnerable side of him.
I've never seen it myself, but I don't feel uncomfortable.
After what seems to be an hour and a half, or around that time, Rex slowly pulled himself from me. I tucked in my wing, watching him as he sat up, looking at the sun over the horizon. His face was a combination of anger and sadness. Stains from his tears were dotted across his face, and his eyes were a bit red. He sat in complete silence.
And then, he began to chuckle.
I stared at him while he did so, my confusion growing. I simply assumed that he was experiencing a flurry of emotions, and wasn't letting any of them be suppressed any longer like he used to. Atleast, for the moment. Anything that came out right now, was genuine.
"God, I've lived a fucked life, huh?" He said, staring ahead. "I mean, the only good parts of my life I remember was when I was a baby, when I was working as a bartender, and when you arrived. Everything else has been shit. And, I can't help but think that I am partly at fault for that. You know?"
He sighed. "I know I'm not at fault for my father becoming the way he ended up. But, I feel like I could've done more, that I could've done better, but I don't know how I would've done any of that. It's like, I know there's an answer to the question, but I don't know how to get it." He turned to me. "I hate myself, Twilight. Yet, I feel like- I feel like there's a lot of reasons for that, but I just don't know what they are."
I gave him a slight frown, feeling my heart pinch a little. "You aren't a monster."
"What proves that I'm not?"
"You rescued me. You helped me, you helped Starlight when she arrived, and you protected your family against an abuser. Even if it costed you said family, you still protected them. You gave yourself up for their safety, and that's not what a monster does."
He chuckled lightly. "If only you knew what happened when I got here."
"I'm still willing to listen."
"Yeah, well-"
A gunshot rang through the open air, and a bullet whizzed just over my head, hitting the wooden wall behind us. I ducked instinctively, and pulled Twilight by her hair into the house as fast as I could. A couple more shots rang out, but none of them hit us, only the wooden walls and door that protected us.
"Holy shit!" I yelled, the adrenaline kicking in almost instantly. I rushed into my room, pulling my rifle into my hands from where it laid on the dresser. As I got out into the living room, I pointed to the storage room, where Twilight went. Starlight stared at the both of us, who was sitting in the chair.
"What's going on?!"
"People trying to kill us, no time to explain-" I said as I flicked the switch next to the front door on. I could hear the surge of power begin to flow through its cord and then-
Blackout.
"Fucking- god damnit!" This was worst case scenario. Our light's in the house were dead, and the turrets outside meant to help us defend the house were also dead. Plus, the food in the freezer? Without that power running through the cooler, it would spoil within a few days, and I know from experience that certain battles can last longer than that.
Twilight came back out of storage with a revolver floating in her aura. I was surprised that she knew what I meant when I pointed to the storage room, but there was no time to think about it. Starlight was defenseless without a weapon, and I never told her how to use a gun either. She would need to rely on her own wits if it came to it.
"Alright, those shots didn't sound close. Definitely wasn't anything that could rapid-fire. Snipers for sure."
"What does that mean?" Twilight asked.
"It means we can't go nowhere. They won't push, unless they got others. We can't push, because we'll get our heads blown off if we do. And right here-" I pointed to the door. "Is our only exit, and entrance. That could be good, because they can only get in one way if they don't tear down a wall. But it's also bad, because now we can't get out of here without stepping through that."
"So.. we're stuck..?" Starlight asked, to which I nodded.
"For now. We don't know if they got anyone else, but there's definitely more than one. They might decide to-"
The front door was kicked in, and I pulled the trigger. The man who was trying to get in fell to the floor with a thud, but there was a second behind him with some sort of rifle in his hands. I tried my best to pull the bolt back in time, but I knew I wasn't going to make it. A shot rang off, and the second man fell to the floor.
I turned my head to Twilight, who's revolver had a tiny bit of smoke trailing out of the barrel. Her eye's were concentrated, and her body was tense. I focused back on the doorway, before dodging out of the open view that came from it. A bullet whizzed past where I was previously stand. "Oh fuck-"
Starlight was in the corner closest to us, her eyes wide. She seemed in fear, but not completely still. I looked at the body that laid in the doorway. Bending down and grabbing the body by the arm, I pulled it out of the doorway's view. "Twilight, can you move that table to the door? To barricade it." Twilight nodded before the table and chairs were in her magical aura, and stacked against the doorway. It wasn't a good barricade, but it meant the snipers couldn't see us.
I looked down at the body that laid in front of me. I could see that it was a male, with a hole in his throat. He wore a black vest, with multiple white insignia's all over it, along with his clothes that were also black. I took the vest off his corpse, and began to rummage through it.
Multiple magazines for his rifle, and lots of... syringes?
Picking up the syringes, I could see that there were labels on each of them, each differently colored. I chalked them up to be enhancements for combat, and set them back inside the bag. I searched through his pockets, only to find a small knife, and a compass. All he had with him was some syringes, mags, and a gun. I reached over to pick up his rifle, and examined it closely.
It looked to be in rough shape, obviously used. It had a selection of firing modes, with semi, auto, and burst, along with a safety. As much as I love my rifle, this might be better for the situation at hand. I set my rifle down on the floor, and picked up the vest, slipping it onto myself.
"Rex, what do we do?" Twilight asked.
"I don't really know.. but we can't move. You think you can teach Starlight how to use a gun?"
"Why me?"
"'Cause I'm going to figure out if I can get the power back on somehow. If we can get those turrets on, we'll be good to go. Go in storage and pick a random thing up and teach her, alright? If you hear noise out here, don't come out. Barricade yourself, got it?"
Twilight hesitantly nodded before turning to Starlight. "Come on-" The both of them disappeared into storage.
"Fuck.." I said, looking at the floor. I grabbed the hammer that laid on the floor from the day before, and began to smash the floorboards. After getting it chipped, and pulling my hand through it to rip the plank off, I dug my hands in to reach for the cord.
The thing was hot.
"REX!"
Twilight and Starlight both came running from storage and back into the living room. "T-The room- it's- it's-" Starlight stammered.
"It's on fire!"
What?!
I immediately hauled ass to storage, and could see the batteries that were in the corner clearly ablaze. They must've short-circuited, and the power must've shot back through and killed them. That much energy making a loop back into them must've just... caused them to explode and catch on fire.
There was nothing in here that I could use to put the flame out, and it had already grown quite big. I turned to the both of them. "Do you both have anything that you can do to... to quell the fire?"
"I-I'll try.." Starlight said, stepping up close to the fire. Her horn began to spark a little, and I could see her concentrate on the fire. The horn began to fizzle still, before a giant blue wave was shot out throughout the area from her. The sudden wave scared me, and put me on my ass. She looked around, scared. "W-What-"
"That means it won't work. Same thing happens to me." Twilight said, shaking her head. "We can't do anything!"
"We can always do something." I said, standing up. I made my way back into the living room, which the both of them followed me into. I shook my head, trying to think of something, anything! There had to be something we could do in this situation, right?
If we stay inside, that fire will keep raging on and the smoke will get to us eventually. If we go outside, we'll get shot. We could try tearing down one of the walls, but the whole place could be surrounded, and we'd still get shot. We're stuck inside the house for now. As soon as I finished the damn thing, too.
My attention turned to the doorway when I heard something walking behind it, before the entire barricade was blasted by a large.. wave? It blinded me, and I felt myself hit the wall behind me with my gun raised. I didn't want to fire and accidentally hit Twilight or Starlight.
My ears kept ringing, but my vision slowly came back to me. I could see five men, all dressed in... advanced power suits? All of them were black with white insignia's on them. I saw both Twilight and Starlight on the floor, darts in their necks. I raised my rifle at them and prepared to fire, before I felt a sting in my neck.
I dropped instantly, but I was still conscious.
One of the men walked up to me. "Just what we were looking for." His voice was distorted from the helmet that he wore, coming off slightly robotic. "Hey Jake, look. Woulda' thought he'd be a bit more... special looking, huh?"
"Yeah, kinda' disappointing. But these two are matching the description, that being cool as hell."
"Why do you think Tarbo wanted 'em? I mean, yeah they look cool, but what's the point?"
"Asking questions like that gets you killed." Another man joined the conversation. "Don't let Tar hear you say that."
"Eh, he needs people like us. Now shitbags like him-" The man pointed to the body that I had taken the vest from. "-are expendable. Bottom of the bottom, the shitstain of the military. But us? We're important."
"Yeah, but Tar isn't one to be very forgiving. You've seen the executions. They're brutal, and I'd rather that not be any of us. As much as I hate you guys, I hate you guys the least."
The man that stood over me crouched down, getting a better look at me. "We still got a conscious one here guys, don't say anything stupid."
"It's not like we're leaking confidential shit. We're fine."
"Still, be careful. Tarbo listens to anyone, even prisoners if it helps him weed out the snakes in the grass. So, shut the fuck up."
"Did you radio off the snipers yet? I bet you they're still sitting there, thinking we got killed or some shit."
"Right, I'll do that right now."
I could see Twilight and Starlight laying on the floor, their eyes still open. The man that had just spoken pulled out a small box and set it on the floor, flipping up a small antenna, before picking up a small chip and inserting it into his helmet. "This is M-5, all members of the vernyy-vystrel unit are to return home. We've got it covered here."
A voice came from the box. "Ah, so you didn't die?" The man had a strong russian accent.
"Oh shut up. You have that little faith in us?"
"Nah, just think you're that dumb. I wouldn't be surprised if you accidentally shot your team."
A man from the back spoke up. "To be fair, he did shoot Klinsey in the leg during training!"
"Shut the fuck up Todd!"
My body was beginning to go to sleep.
"Ay- they're starting to doze off. Give it another five minutes and we can start hauling them."
"Do we really have to wait until they're asleep to start transporting them? That seems kind of dumb."
"If they're awake, they can figure out the path to base. Tar's tactical like that."
"Tactical, or paranoid?"
"You really like tempting execution from him, don't you?"
"Look- I'm just saying. The guy is a little fucking crazy, can we all agree on that?"
Another man, wearing the same white armor, but with red patches on himself walked in. "You might want to shut your fucking mouth before I report you. You think you can go around saying that shit when the higher-ups aren't around? That 'aint what we trained you to do. We trained you to be your best, always."
"Yes sir, sorry sir."
"Told you." The man laughed.
There was six men now in the room, all standing around and talking to eachother. I tried my best to keep my eyes open, and there were only a minute away before they fully closed. I tried my best to pick up as much information as I possibly could.
"So Patches, hows the-"
"The fuck did you just call me?" The man with the red patches said. "You don't know who I am, do you?"
"I transferred into this division, so no."
'Patches' walked up to the other man, pulling out a magnum and setting it to the soldiers throat. The soldier tried to fight back, but 'Patches' pushed him to the wall, and used what looked like a tazer in his other hand to taze the man. The soldier fell after a couple of seconds, dropping his rifle. He looked up and around at the others. "H-Hey, what the fuck?!"
"Stay still."
"Guys- help- he's going to fucking ki-"
A shot rang out.
Smoke billowed out of the magnums barrel. He turned to the other men. "I'm surprised none of you answered his plea's."
"That'd be against code, sir."
'Patches' laughed. "Ah, you lot are good soldiers. Sorry, I do like you guys alot. But this idiot was polluting your group. I don't like newcomers in my squad."
"Don't you have to approve them before they can get in?"
"Not if Tarbo assigns them personally."
"Don't you think he'll be mad if he.. you know, finds out?"
"No. He died in action. Isn't that right, boys?"
"Yes sir." All of the men said.
My eyes were fully closed now, and my consciousness began fading quickly. I tried to resist it best I could, but I knew there was no stopping it. I was going to fall asleep, and be dragged off by these random soldiers. It all happened so fast. How did the day turn into this in the past.. ten to twenty minutes?
Life really fucks you when you least expect it, huh?
My eye's jolted open as my face flew to the left. I couldn't move, my hands being bound behind myself. I took a quick scan of my surroundings, my hearing not fully kicking in. I was tied to a chair, that was for sure, and there was a man in complete white armor with red patches on it, the same man from before. He was apart of the team that kicked in my door, and stormed me.
My hearing slowly phased back in, a slight ringing to it still.
"-ey, hey! Can you fuckin' hear me?"
I groaned, my body feeling like shit. I wanted to spit on him so badly, but that would only get me whipped. To be honest, I was a little nervous, and a little scared too. Instead of acting out, I simply nodded, though with a pissed off face. I wasn't exactly happy with my current predicament. Who would be?
"Mmm.. Good, good. For a second, I thought we put too much in them darts." He reached up to his helmet and took it off, showing his face. He was a brown man with a full beard, and his hair was black and short. His eye's though, were strange. They were almost glowing yellow.
The man cleared his throat. "I'm JO-11. I go by a codename rather than a real name. I've been ordered by Sir Tarbo to inform you on the things that will be taking place from now on. I'm sure that you've already realized that you are currently being held captive in a cell."
A cell? This wasn't the ordinary concrete walls with a hole to piss in kind of cell. It had red carpet, sleek wooden walls, and a bookshelf. Along with a table and chair, and a decorative bed. If this was a cell, I wonder what every other part of the place looked like.
"You might be questioning why you've been captured. I haven't been informed of that, but just know that you're special. Follow the rules, and nothing will happen to you. Tarbo doesn't like to destroy things that he deems... special."
Special?
"So, here's some things that will cause consequences. One, no yelling or screaming like an idiot. It will only make you hurt. Two, no being violent with the guards. Three, do as your told. Refusing commands won't exactly get you beat, but it will dock points on your behavior score."
...What? Behavior score?
"I can see you're probably questioning what the hell a behavior score is. See, every prisoner here, whether special like you, or the lowly filth, all have a behavior score. Each time you refuse, or fuck up, you get docked. You get shittier meals, forced into work, etc. If you have good behavior score, you get better food, and if you're really good, you can roam the halls without supervision. You'd have to work your ass off in order to get that far."
"Tarbo want's to introduce himself and explain everything else later on in the day, so I'll leave the rest to him. I'm going to cut your hands free in a second. Don't give me a reason to cuff them again." He said, approaching behind me with a sharp knife from his pocket. I could feel the rope ripping from my wrists, and I extended my hands out in front of me. While I examined my hands and wrists (which had red marks on them) the man had already left the 'cell.'
What the hell was all that about?
Also, where the hell is Twilight?
My best plan of action is to play along. I'm not a badass, nor a superhuman. Acting out, or trying to 'break out' would only get me killed or seriously injured. I have to play my cards right, and maybe I can get out normally. Words are the key, that's for sure.
I scanned around the room, trying to find any information I could use.
There was absolutely nothing. Even the tens of books in the bookshelf were all empty, without titles. They were simply for decoration. There was nothing else in the room that I could possibly use, or do. Hell, I didn't even have anything to pass the time with.
There was nothing else for me to do except wait.
Starlight's POV
My eye's slowly opened from my deep sleep that I was forced into. My body felt like it was completely dead, which wasn't a good sign. I was able to force my hooves onto the floor from my laying position, and get upright. I almost fell back down immediately, as I felt extremely light-headed and woozy.
I quickly scanned the room that I found myself in. It was basic, but decorative. Dark blue painted wooden walls, several hanging lights from above, and a carpet underneath that was decorated with stars. There was a chair, a bed, and a table, along with what seemed to be some sort of... case?
There was nothing inside, but it was a large glass case.
I went to go get a closer look, but the doorknob to the room began to jiggle. My eyes darted over to it, and I instinctively began to peddle backwards into the corner. My mind raced as to what was behind that door, and before soon, a human walked through the door.
He smiled at me.
Canterlot
"Oh, why would you ever blame me for such a thing, dear Tia~?" Discord said with a playful tone, his eyes half lidded with what seemed to be happiness, and he began to prance around the royal meeting room with music, appearing from seemingly nowhere.
"DISCORD. I'm going to need you to stop avoiding this. If I found out that you had anything to do with this, you're getting sent right back to that stony prison of yours!" Celestia yelled, her voice obviously annoyed. Her eyes squinted at him with anger, unhappy with how light he was taking the situation.
"I would never do such a thing to your dear, and faithful student Celestia."
"Why am I supposed to trust you? You always have had ulterior motives, and it wouldn't be the first time you've done something matching up to this."
"I can certainly give you a hint." Discord said with a smile. "You're looking in the wrong places. You've searched every nook and cranny of the royal castle. Look for the little things, dear friend. They will appear to be obvious when you discover them."
"That gives me no information, discord! Stop being cryptic, and playing your games! This is not a joking matter! Equestria could be invaded at any moment, as we are at our most vulnerable. Without Twilight, others will see it as an opportunity to strike us while we're weak. This isn't affecting just me, but the kingdom. Your friends will get hurt, Discord. Are you truly a friend if you're willing to sacrifice them in the name of being the god of chaos?"
Discord began to giggle a little. "Obviously not, Tia. But I see the full picture, you don't. Perhaps you should question why I'm keeping it a secret. And-" Discord suddenly stopped all movement and stared at Celestia with a certain cold, and dead look, something Celestia hadn't seen of him before, which sent shivers down her spine. "-perhaps you don't want to know. Perhaps what is on the other side will frighten you. Perhaps, what you miss the most will never be the same." His voice went from high and giddy, to low and depressed.
Celestia shook her head. "Like I said before, Discord. If I find out you had anything to do with this, I'll banish you to the moon."
"There are worse fates that lie in the secret you want to know so dearly."
With that, Celestia stormed out of the room.
The doorknob jiggled before the door finally opened.
I turned to it from my laying position on the bed, sitting up and standing up a moment later. A man had walked in, with black hair that was kept extremely short. He was white, and a good 6'2. His eyes were glowing purple, and he wore a black tuxedo, which oddly fit him well. He smiled at me.
"You're Tarbo." I said blatantly.
"I am." Tarbo said, his voice sounding quite... generic. "You're Rex."
"How did you know that?"
Tarbo chuckled softly to himself, putting both hands behind his back and slowly pacing around the room, occasionally giving me glances. "I assume you're interested in what kind of place you've found yourself holed up in, hm?" He asked, his smile still not fading.
"That would be nice." I said, in polite, yet slightly pissed off tone as I could manage.
"You ever hear of the empire?"
I froze. The only stories I've heard of the empire are of great power, and how massive their military was. The tales of magic came from their ability to use psychic powers, though most believed it to be myth. Atleast, any of those that haven't encountered them. "I have."
"Good, good." Tarbo said, still pacing around. "We aren't them."
"Then why ask?
"We are... a split group. I held different ideologies than them, so I created my own empire. That's where you find yourself currently held inside. My empire."
I smirked slightly. "Alright...?"
"The others are safe."
My eyebrow slightly raised, and I was going to ask something before I was cut off by him. "Yes, we didn't cut them up or anything like that. They're being held in rooms like this, though with different variation. I have to say, they're quite magnificent. And, if the stories are true, then they'll be worth a lot."
"Are you planning to sell them?" I asked cautiously.
"What? Of course not. I plan to integrate them into my society. I want to do the same with you. You have a connection to them after all, don't you?"
I wasn't liking his wealth of information that he held. He knew things about me that I had never told him, nor even eluded to. He had something going on in the background, and I couldn't really pinpoint it. So, I decided to ask. "How do you know so much about me and them?"
He chuckled softly again. "I'll show you later, that is for sure. But, it's true, isn't it? Their magic."
I tried to play dumb. "What magic?"
"The same magic that the purple one used to keep that revolver aimed at my men."
Shit...
"You know," He started. "I don't intend to torture them or hurt them in any way. They're invaluable. They seem to be genetically made to use psychic, or other energy to manipulate things. Most use psychic amplifiers, such as my own." He said, lifting his hand in the air before a book came flying off the bookshelf into it.
I stared.
"Impressive, isn't it? It's all technology, not magic. Though, they are definitely not technology. That means they're worth more than anything on this planet. And, I'd hate to deprive them of their connection with you, so don't make it hard for me when I ask questions. They are invaluable. You are not. Though, I'd still hate to lose you. But it won't keep me up at night." His voice was sharp, yet still a little... happy? He carried on with his smile still.
I shook my head. "Fine, I'll play along. What is it you're trying to do with them?"
"Mmm... I don't know yet. I've already talked to the light pink one."
Starlight.
"She wasn't very useful in terms of information. Any attempts at conversation were met with terrified glances, and her... horn, discharged several times. I let her be."
"And Twilight?"
"Is that the purple ones name?" He asked with a smile.
Damnit..
"No, I have not talked to that one yet. After the light pink one, I came to you. I see that the purple one is the most... important, out of you three. Something feels different about her. Her energy, the aura around her, and the general tensity. It's all very... interesting. I'll be going to meet her after this."
"Also-" He continued. "Those men you killed."
Shit.
"Don't worry. They were bottom-barrel. Cannon fodder. Why, I wouldn't have sent them in there first if I didn't know they were going to die. They know that much too. But they know it's better to do as they're told than to disobey commands from their leader."
"So you send men to their deaths?"
"If necessary, yes."
The man pacing in front of me didn't seem fully human to me. The way he talked... the way he carried himself. It wasn't normal, and it felt demonic the more time he was around me. He shook his head, beginning to laugh to himself. "Ah, Rex, you and I are quite ironic, aren't we?"
"What do you mean...?"
"Rex. Tyrannosaurus Rex. You're named after one of the greatest dinosaurs to exist. A monstrosity that ruled over much of the distant planets that are strewn across the universe. Truly a magnificent creation. But I-" Tarbo stopped to face me, pointing at himself. "Am Tarbo. Do you know what that means?"
I hesitantly shook my head.
"Tarbosaurus. Named after an equal to the Tyrannosaurus. The name implies that you and I stand toe to toe." He said, taking a few steps to me until we were only an inch or so away from eachother. "Do you believe that is true, Rex? Do you believe you can... stand against me?"
The urge to swing at him was immense, but I suppressed it. I simply shook my head, knowing that was the smart thing to do.
"Do you know what else your name implies, Rex?" Tarbo said, turning away from me and continuing his pacing of the room. I shook my head once more, following his steps. He seemed to be stepping in a very odd pattern, almost specific with the way that he was walking.
"Rex is also short for king. Did you know that?"
I really didn't know that, so I shook my head.
"Mm... Well, you do know you aren't a king, right? I'm the only true king in this world. Those fools at the broken empire can fuck themselves, everyone knows they already do. A bunch of in-breeding idiots." He snarled at the floor, before his purple eyes shot up to me. "May I ask you a question, Rex?"
"What?"
"How are you?"
What the hell was wrong with this guy? He was acting borderline insane, and jumped from subject to subject. "I'm fine."
"You're lying. Nobody would be fine being taken from their home and forced into a place they know nothing about. I know just the way to calm your nerves. Give me a moment-" Tarbo said while he made his way to the door, flashing me a quick smile before he left the room.
I was alone again.
The way that man spoke gave me chills down my spine. I couldn't exactly explain it, but he didn't seem normal. Does he really believe that the meanings of our names really have anything to do with who we are, or what we'll end up to be? I'm definitely no king, or magnificent dinosaur, or man for that matter.
The door jolted open and someone was thrown in. He fell to the floor with a thud before the door behind him was slammed shut. He quickly made it to his feet, scanning the room before his eyes landed on me. "R-Rex?"
"Oh shit.."
Canterlot
Celestia stepped foot into Twilight's room. It felt forbidden for some reason, yet she knew that Twilight wasn't there to tell her not to. Not that it would amount to anything, as Celestia and Luna both held near supreme power. She scanned the room, seeing everything in the place that Twilight had left it the day that she had disappeared.
It was eerie.
It didn't help that Twilight was no longer the one that was missing. Starlight had also been reported missing, and her last known location was this castle. Spike had no information on where she was in the castle, but that she was definitely here. Taking a few more steps in and allowing the door to shut behind herself, Celestia began to move everything around the room with her magic, flinging items across the room to look for any clue.
She was desperate, desperate enough to give anything for this to end.
She flung the bedsheets across the room, a small little note gently swaying in the air before hitting the floor. There was small writing on it, definitely Twilight's. With intrigue, Celestia paused everything she was doing to pick the piece of paper up. She read it outloud to herself.
She stared at the spell markings, eye's wide.
"Rex, I'm sorry that I gave you up, but it was you or the safety of my tribe!"
"I understand your motives, but that doesn't make me any less fucking happy! What did you tell them?!"
"T-They were looking for those with psychic abilities, and I mentioned y-you had two animals from the a-anima.."
I wanted to punch him. The same man that I had helped out by giving flashlights to, and giving other trade-able items to had given me up. I understood his motives, to save his tribe and his family, but it didn't make me any less angry. "I told you they weren't from the anima!"
"I had to make some sort of story or else they'd kill all of us! It was telling them that, or we died!"
"And let me guess, you're all free?"
"W-Well... yes.."
I turned to the chair that was seated in front of the table, kicking it with all my might. The back right leg split into two, letting the chair fall onto its side. "I can't fucking believe this! I trusted you!"
"Y-You can't blame me for what I did!"
"Oh really? Well, I fucking do! You gave up my freedom for yours! God- God damnit!" I yelled, my hands on my head and my face becoming more red by the second. My breathing was harsh, and my eyes darted across the room at random in pure anger.
"J-Just do as they say, and you'll be free too! I promise!"
"Well I didn't want to be fucking captured to begin with! And now they're going to fuck with Starlight and Twilight to their hearts content. They're going to use them as fucking pawns!"
He shook his head. "N-No... They wouldn't do that, I promise!"
"You promised a lot of things, and you did this to me. Why the fuck should I believe a liar?" I said, approaching him, causing him to back up into the far corner. My fist was raised, ready to punch before the door swung open with Tarbo entering inside of the room.
"Ah, I see you've met your old friend."
"Friend? Friend?!"
"That is what I said." Tarbo said with a smile, gesturing to the outside of the door. "Please, come. There is a ceremony going on, and I know you'd love to participate in it. Not like you have much of a choice."
I slowly backed away, and exited the room, doing as Tarbo said. I hated following these orders, but if it meant I was going to live, then I had to deal with it. Compliance works sometimes, and right now it's the only thing keeping me from being a blood splotch on the wall.
Tarbo, the traitor, and I walked down the red-carpeted hall. Both walls were decorated with expensive-looking art, and various pictures of Tarbo or other people, along with gigantic windows with gold lining the edges. It was definite that Tarbo was a rich man, and this 'empire' was definitely going to be bigger than I first imagined.
It took a couple of minutes, but Tarbo had led us to the destination.
A large courtyard, with what seemed to be hundreds of people lining up outside a roped out area in the middle. A crowd of people, awaiting to watch a certain event. I supposed I was going to be involved in this event, as Tarbo brought both me and the traitor inside the line.
The traitor looked to the right, to which I did the same, only to see that his entire tribe was currently watching with smiles. They looked so fucking happy. Free. As if their troubles were taken away. What did they do to get that though, hm? They probably don't even know what he did to get them there.
I scanned the rest of the crowd to find Starlight or Twilight, but they weren't there.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, you all might be wondering why I've called for an assembly today." Tarbo began speaking loudly, addressing the audience that were all smiles and laughs. They began to cheer when he talked, but slowly quieted down as they waited for him to continue. "This here is a new member of our society that we have taken in, along with his many members of his family. He is a welcome addition!" Tarbo said, raising the traitors hand, who'm began to smile.
And, yes, I will always refer to him as a traitor.
"The methods of which he had gotten citizenship has truly helped us, but I have found out something that dearly upsets me, dear friends." Tarbo said, letting down the traitors hand before slowly backing up away from him. "What exactly did you do, to get your citizenship, friend?"
The traitor looked at the people, before looking at me with a slightly worried face. I gave him the most pissed off look I could muster. "W-Well.." He began. "I-I turned in a few people that might be able to help us."
"And, who is that?" Tarbo asked, pointing at me.
"T-That's Rex."
"And you two are friends?"
I chuckled. The traitor slowly shook his head. "But I thought you said he was a dear friend of yours?" Tarbo asked.
"H-He was, until I..."
"Until you what?"
"Betrayed him."
Tarbo began to nod, while the audience sat in silence. "Mmm.. So, you betrayed an old friend, is that it? You traded his life for your and your families life, right? I must say, what you have given us is extremely beneficial. Rex and his two other friends will be quite a help, I must say."
The traitor began to smile, before Tarbo continued. "But..."
"But...?" The traitor asked.
"As I must congratulate you for becoming a citizen and helping us, I must tell you that I do not quite like traitors. Those who are willing to throw others under the bus. So, I've come up with a payment you can give me." Tarbo said, staring at me with a smile. A shiver went down my spine.
"Y-Yes?" The traitor asked.
Suddenly, JO-11 appeared from the crowd with his white armor, and red patches. He grabbed the traitor by his throat and pushed him into a wooden beam that stood tall. Two other men threw a noose over the top of the beam, and lowered it. JO-11 then forced the traitors head into the noose, and tightened it. "Don't resist."
Wait... Were they-
"Ladies and Gentlemen, I say with a happy tone that today will be another public execution!" With that, two reactions came from within the crowd. Most of the people began to cheer and smile, happy to see another man be hung to death, while the family began to scream and yell.
"W-What- No! No no, I gave you- I gave you what you asked fo-"
"Oh yes, you did." Tarbo said with a smile. "You gave us what we wanted, and you succeeded. But, I must say, you are a vile person. Atleast you will die as a citizen of my empire, instead as filth in the wasteland, right? Think of the bright side, dear friend!" JO-11 began to pull on the rope, lifting the traitor into the air.
I have never seen someone hung before.
It looked painful. He tried to get out of the noose, but to no avail. His face became red nearly instantly, and his legs dangled about. He reached out a hand in the direction of his family, who kept crying, whilst the rest of the crowd continued to cheer in happiness.
A high pitched scream came from the audience.
"Ah, is that your family?" Tarbo asked the traitor while he choked, pointing over to the tribe. "Lovely people, I must say. Is that your daughter?" He asked, pointing to the little girl that happened to be the culprit of the high pitched scream. "May one of you guards fetch the girl for me?"
Before the family had time to grab the girl and pull her into safety, a guard had already peeled her away. The little girl continued to cry, and stare up at her father that was currently choking. She couldn't have been past eleven years of age. Tarbo shook his head, staring up at the father. "Oh, little one, don't be scared. This is a lesson, you understand don't you?"
"Papa.." She said with tears in her eyes.
"Ah, I know! Guard, hand me your knife!" Tarbo said. A guard approached him with knife in hand, and presented it to Tarbo, which he took from the guard. He then looked at the little girl. "I have just the plan. I'll give you a parting gift from your father. That would be nice, wouldn't it?"
With that, Tarbo stabbed the traitors stomach, and pulled down, sufficiently cutting his stomach open and allowing his guts to spill out. Blood began to spill from his stomach while Tarbo then reached inside, pulling as much stuff as he could out. The girl watched in horror, her eye's almost completely closed because of her tears.
With a handful of the mans guts now in his hands, Tarbo placed them ontop of the little girls head, and slathered it all over her face. "There, now you have a little piece of your father with you. You'll remember him always, won't you?" The little girl then fell over, her hands covering her face, to which Tarbo forced her hands away from her face and opened her mouth wide with his fingers, forcing in a bit of the blood and other matter into her mouth.
He then stood over her with a bright smile, and bloodied hands. The crowd continued to cheer. "Good enough I'd say. Guards, get her back to her family. And, make sure they don't take it off of her. It's a gift after all, it'd be a shame to wash it all off!" With that, the guards took the little girl and forced her back into the crowd with her family.
I stared, not fully understanding what I had witnessed, before my mouth spoke for me.
"You're sick."
Tarbo turned to me nearly instantly, his big smile still there. "Excuse me, friend?"
"I don't like to repeat myself."
"Mmm... I'm beginning to like you more and more, dear Rex. I'm glad I brought you out here instead of the other two. You were so much fun to watch. Your reaction, your wide eyes and your open mouth, so entertaining! We do have room in the jesters court, you know."
"The Rim consumed you." I snarled. "You're nothing but trash, and you realize it. That's why you have all your guards do things for you."
"The blood on my hands say otherwise, dear friend. JO-11, take dear Rex to his cell, would you?"
"Yes sir." JO-11 said, letting the rope go and allowing the man's body to fall. He stared at me before pointing at the open section of the rope. I knew I had to comply, so I walked out of the sectioned off square, waiting for him to escort me back to my cell.
Within such a short amount of time, Tarbo has already proven that he's the worst person on the Rim.
Twilight's POV
I paced around the random room I was placed in.
The room was painted with dark purples and blues, as if it was made specifically for me. Bookshelves lined the walls, and a chair with a table in front of it had a small notebook with a pencil sitting on top of it. I was tempted to check the books after being here for so long with no explanation, but I was too lost in thought.
The door suddenly opened, revealing a man that definitely wasn't Rex.
"Ah, I see you're already awake. I hope I didn't keep you waiting." The man said, smiling at me. His hands were wet, slightly dripping still. He followed my gaze, and began to chuckle. "Oh, sorry. I had to clean some blood off of my hands. You wouldn't laugh if I said it was Rex's?"
"What?!" I yelled, my wings flaring out. "What did you do with Rex?! And Starlight?!"
"Oh hush, hush. It was only a joke, friend." He said with a smile, waving a dismissive hand at me. I didn't let up my confidence, or my awareness. "What, do you really think I would keep you alive only to hurt you now? I wouldn't do such a thing, it'd be a waste of time. And, as many in my empire know, I don't like wasting my time."
"Who are you." I said. It wasn't a question. It was a demand.
"For someone so small, you definitely radiate power. I'm Tarbo, but you can call me Tar. I own this empire."
"Empire. What are you talking about."
He began to chuckle again. "If the other is Starlight, that must mean you are Twilight." He said, his smile persisting. "I hear that you're magical Twilight. Is that true? If so, I'd love to see it in person. I've heard the reports from my men about a 'floating revolver, encased in a purple glow.' Is that how it works? You can manipulate the energy in the ai-"
I flung the chair at him with my magic, to which he suddenly vanished from thin air, only to appear about two feet from where he previously was. "That wasn't nice, dear Twilight. But, I did ask to see how it works, and you obliged. You'll definitely get something in return, I promise. Is there anything else you can do?"
I could tell he was baiting me into doing something else, so I didn't comply. Even if I had wanted to, my magic was... limited, in its abilities. I simply stared at him, my anger not wavering. Where did he put Starlight? Where did he put Rex? Were they okay?
"I'm quite special too." He said, lifting his hand, allowing a book from the bookshelf to fly into his hand. He smiled at me as I simply stared wide-eye'd at what he had just done. I didn't know humans were capable of... magic. Rex said that they weren't!
He then turned around and parted his hair slightly, showing a small device attached to the back of his head. "It's a psychic amplifier. We humans aren't born genetically with these abilities, but once we install these into our brains, we're just as magical as you. Except, you're born with it, aren't you?"
I wasn't going to answer any questions.
"The silent type, I understand. Please don't make me have to take drastic measures. You're either going to join me willingly, or i'll have to force you into compliance. And, we both understand what that entails, don't we? You don't want me to hurt you, do you? Or, perhaps Starlight, or dear Rex would possibly be a better option to take my anger out on?"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, I do. You're too magnificent, Twilight. I can't give up on you. I'll do anything I have to in order for you to sit by my side. You're a valuable asset, Twilight. You could get far within my empire. Those fools and their own broken empire know nothing."
"You don't look like royalty to me." I said, spite in my voice.
"Do you not like my suit? Is it not golden enough for you? Perhaps purple would suit me better." He said with a smile. "Perhaps you being by my side will compliment my eyes. What do you think? I think that'd be magnificent. It'd be a pleasant display for sure, very exotic."
I simply shook my head in anger. I had never felt such hate for someone until now.
"You're angry. Perhaps I could make you angrier?"
I sat alone in my 'cell.'
I had spent the last hour reliving the scene that I had witnessed. The poor girl, and the laughs of the crowd. They cheered for execution as if it was a time for celebration, or if it was entertainment. Sick, disgusting, vile human beings. No, they weren't even human. They're monsters.
The door swung wide open.
JO-11, along with Tarbo and...
Twilight?!
I stood up immediately, wanting to rush in and scoop Twilight up, to know that she was safe, but JO-11 put a hand out in front of the both of them towards me, pointing downwards, signifying for me to sit back down. I did as told, and stared at Twilight, examining if she was hurt at all. She seemed fine, but her face was filled with anger, anger that I had never seen before from her.
"Dear Twilight is quite the stingy person, dear Rex. Have you ever had any problems like that before with her?"
I was too busy staring at her in order to answer his question.
"Mm.. JO-11, get his attention, would you please?
"Yes sir." He said, to which I immediately switched my gaze towards him and shook my head. JO-11 then turned to Tarbo, who began to chuckle.
"Ah, now you hear me. Good. Now that I have your attention, your friend Twilight is being a little short on words, and a little... stingy with her knowledge. She refuses to do anymore tricks with her magic, therefore I have decided to punish her."
"You better not lay a fucking fin-"
"Now now-" Tarbo said, shushing me. "I won't lay a single finger on her, I promise. Instead, I've come up with a better plan. Have you ever heard of the saying 'One man's fault is the squads fault?' That's the philosophy we're going with here. So instead of her..."
He pointed at me.
"Me." I said, realizing what he was signifying.
"Exactly."
"What? No!" Twilight yelled. "T-That's not fair... I-I'll do-"
"Hush now, dear Twilight. You've already refused, now we must carry out with the punishment. Dear Rex, you understand to not fight back, hm? That would only return bad results, as you might assume. JO-11 has his own unique abilities, some of which will prove him stronger than you."
I groaned and nodded. I knew that fighting back would be futile, and that complying, even in pain and punishment, was my only option. I didn't like the fact that I was being treated like a slave, and punished like a bitch, but I didn't have much of a choice. That's all this is huh? Not much of a choice.
"You understand the procedure, JO-11. Have your way with him, but do not kill him."
JO-11 stood only a few inches away from me, nodding. "Rex, you understand the procedure."
"I do."
"Then I will proceed." He said, to which he grabbed me by my collar and slammed me face-first into the wall, cutting my head open already. I slid face-first down the wall, blood leaking from my head onto the wall. I could hear Twilight yell something, but I didn't know exactly what.
I was pulled back onto my feet by him, to which he then sent me flying into the table on the other side of the room, breaking it into two. My body, with the force that he threw me at, already felt like a ragdoll. My arms felt like spaghetti noodles. I could feel his hand wrap around my collar once more, and he set me onto the bed. Pulling handcuffs from his pocket, he cuffed one arm to the bed, before cuffing the other one to the other side.
I groaned, trying to resist, knowing that it wouldn't matter.
He pulled a knife from his pocket.
I began to kick him, but it proved useless. With a swift motion, he cut my left cheek all the way up to my forehead, leaving a bleeding scratch on my face. I moaned out in pain, to which Twilight yelled once more. JO-11 shook his head, placing his hand onto my face to keep me steady.
I could see the edge of the knife stare at my left eye.
"No! No- please stop, please!" I could hear Twilight cry in the background.
My heart was racing, and I could feel the tip gently press against my eye. It didn't go further than that. JO-11 then turned to look behind him, looking at Tarbo. "Sir, permission to maim."
"Permission granted."
"NO NO NO-" Twilight yelled.
It made no difference. I could feel the tip of the knife begin to cut through my eye. I immediately yelled in pain as my left eye's vision became blurry almost instantly, before being filled with nothing but black. Tears began to flow from my right eye as my left eye bled, and I kicked around as hard as I could.
"FUCK- FUCK- OH GOD!"
"STOP STOP-" Twilight yelled in tears. I pulled my hands on the cuffs as hard as I could, to which they actually... broke? With my hands now free, and adrenaline running through my veins, I kicked JO-11 off as hard as I could, causing him to fall onto the floor. The knife was lodged in my eye while I pounced on top of him, sending my fist flying onto his helmet, breaking the glass on the helmet and causing it to cut his face.
I immediately was sent flying to the bed, hitting the wall hard. I didn't feel any crack, but I definitely was hurting.
"Oh dear Rex, didn't I tell you? Fighting back would end with bad results."
"Stop stop stop-" Twilight's voice began to dry out as she continued to plead. I turned my vision over to Tarbo, though it was blurry through the tears. JO-11 was on the floor still, laying on his side and picking the glass out from his cut up face. After a minute of doing that, he stood up and smiled at me.
"Good hit. I didn't see that coming, Rex." He said, before sending a fist flying into my face.
Everything went black.
Canterlot
"Are we to believe that Twilight accidentally transported herself into another universe?"
"Lulu, look at the spell markings. She wrote them wrong! That's forbidden magic that she wrote unknowingly. Using it too much can cause rifts between dimensions and universes. She must've thought that she would be able to transport herself to griffon-stone fine, but instead sent herself flying into another universe!"
Luna looked at the small piece of paper, frowning at the spell markings. "That is forbidden magic. But, what do we do?"
"Nothing right now. We don't know what other universe is like. If only some aspects of magic exist in the other universe, then only some of our spells will work. There is a spell to make a failsafe version, but it'll take until tomorrow. I've already sent a letter to Starswirl and others, to see if they can get working on it."
Luna shook her head. "I can not believe that Twilight would not know of such a basic thing."
"This type of magic was forbidden since it's creation Luna. She's extremely young, and would have no knowledge of this. We can't even dictate what universe the different markings stand for, as there's practically infinite amounts. She would have never known unless we told her, and even if we did tell her, we wouldn't be able to prove it without actually sending her there."
"What type of universe can we expect her to arrive in?" Luna asked cautiously.
"She could arrive in a universe on a planet almost exactly like ours, or one that's completely the opposite. It's up to fate, I'm afraid."
"Fate doesn't always have our best interest."
"No, it does not, does it sister?"
I awoke with a gasp, thrusting myself to sit upright. I immediately forced my left hand up to my left eye, only to feel bandaging all across it. I was going to get up, to try to find something to look at myself with, but my body felt almost completely dead. Whatever those two had, it definitely made their punches alot stronger than they should be..
"Rex...?"
I looked to the left of me, only to see Twilight beside my bed, a long cut going diagonal across her face, as if someone used a large knife to slice her. "Twilight what the- what the hell happened?!"
"W-Well.. After they knocked you out, I... threw some bits of the table at them with my magic in anger, and Ta..tarbo..tarbo? Tarbo said it was only fair, so..."
It was definitely going to make a permanent scar.
"T-they gave you some pills after that, and said you shouldn't feel the pain.."
"I don't, but it doesn't make me any less happy. They fucking... jesus christ, Twilight. How are you even here?"
Twilight chuckled, though it was weak and not one of joy. "With me refusing to move from my spot after they... you know, they decided that it would be best for me to wallow in my sorrow. That I would perhaps learn my lesson to help them, instead of them hurting you and me being forced to watch and endure the aftermath."
"Whatever you do Twilight, don't do shit for them, no matter if they hurt me."
"Rex, they cut your eye!"
"I don't give a shit! You didn't... you didn't see the things they do! They're evil, Twilight. We can't help people like them- no matter the cost!"
"I'm not giving up you or Starlight!"
"You might have to!"
The room fell silent, to which I began to chuckle and shake my head, letting my head fall back and hit the wall behind me. "What the fuck has gotten into us. One day in this fucking shithole, and we're already beginning to act like them. Come up here, Twilight."
Twilight jumped up onto the bed, sitting beside me.
I wrapped an arm around her lazily, my body still feeling like spaghetti. "We're... we're going to be fine. It's just going to be hard, but we can endure that, right? We've endured hardship before, you and I. We can do that. We're alright, right?" I said, trying to cheer her up. She looked at me with tears in her eyes, nodding.
"We're okay..." She said quietly with a sob.
"Exactly. We're okay. We're okay. Don't break down, okay? They're going to try to break us down, to break us apart, but don't let them do that. You're stuck with me, alright? Y-You're not going to disappear on me that easily, and I'm not letting you go until you find a way back home."
That seemed to have struck a nerve, as Twilight immediately began to bawl her eyes out, pressing herself into me. I pulled her into a hug, letting my head sit over hers. "We're okay, Twilight.. We're okay. I'm okay. You're okay. Starlight is okay. It's just a flesh wound, right?" I said with a laugh.
"Just a flesh wound.."
Two days had passed without anything happening. They left Twilight inside the room with me, and sent two men to replace the chair and table. They delivered food, that was actually quite decent, but I knew it was all just to get us to side with them even more. To think that they weren't bad people. Me and Twilight weren't buying into it.
We spent most of the two days simply talking to eachother. About literally anything at all. We avoided things that were bad, such as what was currently happening to us. She mainly told me about her own world, but in more detail, and especially about her friends.
"So... These two, what were their names.. Applejack and... Rain-Rainbow? Some people really think they should get together, but others think that it's a bad idea?"
"It's a mixed bag, really. Some say they're perfect for eachother, while others say that they'd be better off with somebody else."
"I say they should let themselves decide. But, people just love drama, so I doubt that'd ever happen. Also, aren't they like, rivals or something? Maybe that's why people don't want them together. They'd constantly butt heads together, and try to one-up."
"Ooorr, and hear me out, perhaps the competitiveness inside both of them will allow them to have a friendly competition with each other, which would only cement their relationship further?" Twilight said with a smirk, to which I waved a dismissive hand at her.
"I don't believe it until I see it."
"Well, guess you'll never believe me then."
"Damn straight." I said with a smile.
That smile quickly faded when the door swung open, with Tarbo entering inside, completely alone. Me and Twilight stared at him, both of us nervous. "Ah, what, are you not happy to see me? That's quite a different look compared to the usual happy greeting I get from everybody else. You two really aren't fitting in well. How do you expect to become friends with everyone else?"
"I don't." I said, which earned me a nervous and worried look from Twilight.
"That's no good, Rex. Say, hows the eye? We administered some pills to you, so the pain and healing process should be okay. I'm sorry to say that you won't have that eye anymore, unless we do something drastic. Oh, I know! I could've slipped luciferium into your mouth while you wer-"
"You better fucking not!" I yelled out of instinct. Luciferium was a deadly pill. Once you take a single one, you'd have to take them once every week or so, or else you'd die. It was known that it could heal nearly any and all health problems, but at the biggest cost.
"Relax, relax. I wouldn't do such a thing, not without your permission. Well, your permission, anyways. Starlight doesn't apply to that, does she?"
"You gave her luciferium?!"
"No! No no, dear god no. Just, that her consent doesn't really matter in many things, does it? Since she refused to sate my desire of knowledge about her magical abilities, she sated other things for some of the guards. I have to say, she's grown to be quite popular."
My heart sank.
"I'm having her escorted here. I've decided that having you all in the same room would be more efficient. JO-11 argued against it, but he's dust compared to my position, isn't he? Now, if you would, wait a moment while I go and greet dear Starlight before she enters." Tarbo said before disappearing outside of the room.
Twilight turned to me as soon as he left, ready to burst into tears. "R-Rex.. W-What did h-he-he mea-"
"Ssshh.. Yes. Yes..."
A moment later, Starlight walked in.
The state she was in told us just the story we didn't want to believe in. Bruises were all over her backside, and along her face. She stared at the floor for a moment before looking up at us, her eyes sad and depressed, and almost dead in nature. Twilight immediately hopped off the bed and rushed towards her.
"S-Starlight, oh thank... goodness.." She took a step backwards to examine her. "S-Starlight?"
"They used me." She said with a dead tone.
"H-How-"
"How?! They raped me, Twilight. There, I said it."
I shook my head, my fists balled up. I was ready to yell before Starlight's voice caught me off guard. "What happened to you two?"
I shook my head still, chuckling. "Twilight got cut across the face, and I.." I pointed to my left eye, which was still bandaged. "Only have one eye left. They stabbed this one after they beat the shit out of me."
Starlight stared at the both of us before breaking down into tears.
Thing's will get better, won't they?
Tarbo's POV
Thing's just go swimmingly in this empire. I must say, that I've done a swell job at keeping things from going bad here. I've got the perfect people, with the perfect guards, with the perfect captives in their cell. Everything is going according to plan. A psychic-amplifier based empire, completely based under my rule.
It's perfect, isn't it?
Those fools and their broken empire won't know what hit them. They're going to bathe in their families blood while I cut them down, one by one. Even if I shared my name among'st their family, I am not their family. They gave me up because I was different than them! Because I was...
Calm down, Tar. You're a fine man, and will always be.
The captives are quite interesting. Two creatures from the 'Anima' as the man had said, though I don't believe it to be true. I believe them to be out of this world, literally. Another planet, that much is for sure. Genetically born animals or people with psychic powers at birth are not possible, or atleast shouldn't be.
And, have I completely forgotten the fact that they're able to talk?
I suppose that is a very strange thing, but I don't see it as such. Instead, it allows for further research. Research that is being hindered to their own ability to think for themselves, and to disobey and refuse orders and commands. Thankfully, dear Rex is willing to be a punching bag. With him, they will submit quite easily.
Well, maybe he isn't willing, but it doesn't matter does it. He's nothing compared to those two. His connection is the only reason why he is living, and honestly, if it comes to it, will be the reason that he dies. All he is, is a social manipulation tool to get those two to finally join my side. As what, you might ask?
I have no idea.
Perhaps as warriors, out on the battlefield? No, too risky. Perhaps a royal job, something beside me. Something so exotic and out of this world will give me an appearance like no other. An appearance I crave to have so badly, and I will have it soon enough. Just because things are being slowed down to a snails pace doesn't mean that it won't eventually happen. It will. It isn't happening the most efficient way possible, but results are results in the end, aren't they?
I suppose I could change certain tactics about. Perhaps giving them luciferium will force them into compliance?
The fear of imminent death would scare them to the point that they would have to join me in order to get an unlimited supply of the pills, thus sustaining their life until we run out. And, with our factory being able to push out luciferium pills to other royals like candy, it won't be anytime soon that we run out of those pills.
It's a deal of a lifetime! Join my side, and be a good person beside my throne, and you shall keep your life!
It sounds very fair to me. Maybe not the way that they look at it, but my shoes are the only ones that need to be filled at the end of the day. And, i'm the only one that can wear these shoes in the first place. Nobody else but me, that's fact. Many have told me otherwise, but they just aren't main characters in the plot of this story.
They're mad that they could be killed off, as expendable. They're mad that I can't be killed. How can they kill the main character that the story follows? It'd be impossible I say! What kind of story would that be if I were to suddenly die at random? It'd be a shame.
Either way, I see myself winning no matter what. I will always win, like I have in the past.
The siege plan is coming in quite nicely, but the one thing that scares me the most is how the broken empire is handling things. They are acting silently, and doing things in secret. I have no more information on their patrols, and they have stopped sending messages between locations. Instead, they haven't been communicating at all, as if they knew I was intercepting their comms.
And, even if I was, they'd probably continue. Comms are so invaluable that it'd be a shame to lose them just because somebody on the other side is listening in. They could've come up with something else in order to send messages, but instead they opted out for the most difficult route.
I applaud them, for their stupidity.
Thankfully, I'm not stupid. I never will be, as I know that I'm me, and they're them. They've also been changing locations rapidly, as if they're moving there stuff to a more strategic position. Perhaps I have traitor amongst my group. Perhaps that is what I need to do first.
I will call a traitor-finding meeting tomorrow for sure. To find out if there is anyone behind the scenes, leaking my masterful plans. They wouldn't do such a thing would they? I mean, ruining the greatest person in existence's plan, which would only result in the worst thing happening. That being, my failure, and we all know that I'm not supposed to fail. It just isn't in the plans.
And, we all know, my plans always work out, no matter what.
I suppose that things will simply work their own magic, no matter what I do, hm?
I let Starlight and Twilight sleep on the bed while I slept on the floor.
They tried to argue against it, but I wasn't going to take no for an answer. They deserved a good warm bed, even if they had to share it. I could deal with the floor for now. Besides, even with an eye gone, I feel like they're being hit the hardest. I've been here for over two years. They've only been here for a couple months.
Big difference.
Also, I still couldn't feel pain coming from my left eye. I already knew what the outcome was, that being my eye no longer being usable. Living with only one eye was extremely disorienting, and caused me to stumble across something in the room because I couldn't see it. So, now not only do I not have a finger, I no longer have an eye.
Also, those mechanites from a couple days before were gone. I didn't feel sick. Whatever medicine they had given me must've killed them off, wiping them from my bloodstream. I wanted to be thankful, but the medicine was given to me by a complete monster. Should I really be thankful? I'd rather have dealt with the pains.
Starlight spoke to Twilight about what happened to her.
While she was asleep, Twilight gave me a brief summary, and it's not a happy story. She was raped, violently, by royals and guards. Since she didn't want to do what she was commanded to do by Tarbo, he allowed anyone free reign into her cell. Most who indulged in the act constantly made fun of her, telling her that her body was ugly, built like an animal, but that she had human qualities. And, that those were the only qualities that mattered.
I swear, if I could, I'd kill them.
But, I know that I wouldn't be able to, atleast not now. Tarbo is too strong, and that guard, JO-11, is hyped up on something else. He probably has his own psychic amplifier thing, or implants that were able to get his strength all the way up to eleven. He also seemed to be the right-hand guard for Tarbo. If anything needed to be dealt with, JO-11 was sent out to do it.
I asked Starlight if he had done anything to her, to which she responded no.
Despite working for a monster, he seemed the most human out of any interaction I've had here. Several other guards and royals would visit our 'cell' and mock us, or deliver food and other things. Yet, he spoke casually. He was definitely intimidating, but something about him seemed much different than the others. That didn't make me hate him any less though.
I watched Twilight and Starlight sleep from the chair I sat on. They cuddled up together closely. I'm sure that it made them feel much better. I'd love to join them in sleepy cuddles, but I just didn't feel right at the moment. Something was bothering me. I really didn't know what precisely, but it was something major.
I was going to let my head fall back on the chair, until the door quietly opened. It was late, who is it?
Tarbo took a step in, and motioned me to come outside the room. I stared at him, my glare returning. Each time I saw this man, I could feel my blood start to boil. Maybe that's what killed off the mechanites, hm? Hating the fact that I had to obey, I got up and quietly exited the room, to which he shut the door behind me.
He smiled at me. "How are you, dear Rex?"
"It's late." I said, ignoring his question.
"It is, but I knew you'd be awake. I needed to speak to you in private."
I groaned in my own mind, knowing that this wasn't going to be anything pleasant. I eye'd him, hating his little smile. "And, what exactly did you need to speak to me about?" I asked, putting on a fake, cheery attitude. I knew he could see through it, but that didn't stop him from playing along.
"I'm glad you asked! Dear Rex, do you know what this is?" He said, pulling a red pill from behind him, holding it between his thumb and pointer finger. I stared at it, knowing exactly what it was. It was luciferium. It was a crimson-red pill, almost like old blood, and it shined slightly in the light.
I nodded.
"Good! It's yours." He said, forcing me with his own hand to open up my palm, before placing the pill in my hand.
"Why would I want it?"
"Well, I would assume that one would like to stay alive, hm? Why else do you think you don't feel any pain?"
What?
"I might've said a small lie when I was talking to you. I had my guards administer tough medication to you, knowing that it would dull the pain. If you were too busy focusing on the current pain, you wouldn't be able to endure the pain later down the road, hm? So, I slipped one of these into you."
"W-What?" I said, choking on my saliva slightly. My eye's went wide, and my heart felt like it was going to shatter. I began to hyperventilate almost immediately, but I stayed standing, not allowing myself to completely break down. That would be the reaction he wanted.
"Oh, I know I should've asked for your permission, but I just... couldn't. I'm sure you understand, hm? I'm going to give those two the pill too in order to make you all, how do I say it, connect? Bond together closer?"
"N-No!" I yelled, to which he placed his hand over my mouth.
"Hush Rex, you will wake them up. You don't want me to give them the pill?"
"No.."
He giggled. "You know you have no say over that. But, I'll buy into it. You do as I say, or else I'll slip a little pill into their food. They'd be enslaved for the rest of their lives, but not to me. To the Luciferium. You would hate that, wouldn't you? Don't answer, I know the response, which would be 'Yes Tarbo, it'd be a terrible fate. Please, don't do that, I will do anything you say!' Splendid!"
He mocked me, but I was powerless to stop him.
"Tomorrow, I will abuse you as I see fit. And, don't go and tell them about your little luciferium problem. I want to tell them myself. I want to see their genuine reaction, knowing their friend will suddenly die at random within a week, without a simple dose of this little pill. You'll do as I say, correct?"
I nodded.
"Good. Now take the pill, as payment for accepting."
I stared down at the pill in my hand. It shined slightly from the light that sat overhead. I shook my head. How did my life come to this very moment? With nothing left, I lifted the pill into my mouth, and swallowed hard, feeling it slide down my throat, to which Tarbo began to laugh.
"I would've thought you picked up on my joke, dear Rex."
"W-What do you mean?"
"Oh, you silly man. I didn't even give you the luciferium, it was all a lie. You just took your first dose of it, yourself. I thought you would've been the one to spot my trickery, but I suppose you really aren't fit to be a king, are you? You'd shamefully rule a dull world."
"What?!" I yelled, to which Tarbo forced his hand onto my mouth once again.
"You don't want me to beat you, do you? Go back inside, and go to sleep. You'll need it for tomorrow, I promise. It will be a rough day, and you'll need your rest. Now go, friend." He said with a smile before opening the door. When I didn't move, he kicked me into the room, and slammed the door shut behind me.
Twilight and Starlight awoke to the loud noise. "Hu-h..?!" They both said with a gasp, before seeing me on the floor.
"R-Rex? What.." Twilight started, before I got myself off the floor.
"J-just a late night visit from Tar.. I'm fine, I promise."
"You better be..." I could hear Twilight say with a whisper, before laying her head back down. Starlight eye'd be, scanning my body to see if there were any injuries. After that, she scanned my face, which was slightly red. I looked away from her, trying to keep my calm.
She decided that I was okay, and let her head fall back onto the bed, almost instantly falling asleep.
I wanted to cry. He tricked me into taking the pill myself. What was I going to do now? What will happen to me tomorrow? He specified me, and not them. I assume another torture session, to try to get the two of them to comply with whatever crazy commands he wants them to do.
I wasn't one to believe in god, but I prayed to him that night.
There was a knot in my stomach. My body felt weak, and I felt defeated. Have you ever felt that pain in your stomach, before school as a kid? That nervous feeling that you get, where you know it's going to be hell? That's what it felt like. I knew that the day would only bring pain, and that I would have to endure that pain no matter what. There was no other option.
Starlight awoke with a yawn, pulling herself away from the hooves of Twilight. As she sat up, she used both of her hooves to rub her eyes, another yawn coming forth from her mouth. With a shake of her head, she opened her eyes, to see me sitting on the wooden chair.
"Hey, Rex." She said, her voice neither happy nor sad. It felt dead.
"Hey, Starlight."
"You look dead tired. Are you okay?"
I chuckled softly at the question, before shaking my head. "Nah, i'm not. But, none of us are, so I ain't special. I can handle it."
I could tell Starlight wanted to say something, but she instead kept her mouth closed. She looked over to Twilight, before giving a slight smirk. "Should I let her keep sleeping, or should I wake her up?"
"Wake her up. If she isn't awake by the time Tar get's here, he'll wake her up himself. She's already got one scar on her face, I'd rather her not have another. I want her to stay somewhat intact." I said, to which Starlight nodded, lightly pushing her hoof on Twilight's side. Twilight moaned, giving off a sigh before opening her eyes.
"What...?"
"Time to get up, Twilight. It's a new day." Starlight said in as hopeful of a tone as she could manage. A tone that both Twilight and I could see right through. A tone that Starlight herself knew that we could see through. There was honestly no point in keeping hope.
Well, I should keep hope. I've got to get these two back home, don't I? If... it's even possible.
Twilight sat up, shaking her head and rubbing her eyes with her hooves, yawning as she did so. Almost exactly how Starlight did it. In fact, they shared alot of small similarities when it came to things. Even the way they ate sometimes. I chalked it up to... well, nothing, actually. I couldn't really put a finger on it.
Maybe I have to put a hoof on it? Heh.
"You up?" A voice called, which happened to be JO-11 as he opened the door. I stared at him for a moment, only to look back at the other two. I then looked back at him and shrugged.
"I don't know. What do you see?"
"I see three people ready to begin the day. In about five minutes we're going to be escorting you to another room. You'll understand once you're there. Tarbo will be waiting there for us, so he won't make introductions before we escort. Get yourselves ready." JO-11 said before exiting the room.
"You hear that? I guess I better take a shower." I jokingly said, which caused two glares to come from the two ponies that currently occupied the room with me. "What? Look, times are shitty. I can make a single joke, alright? Give me some slack, we all know we need it."
"I need a shower so badly... I still feel... sticky.." Starlight said, her face scrunching up in disgust as she closed her eyes. I had no doubt in my mind she was reliving that traumatic moment.
"I'd just like some lotion.. the scar is scabbing up, and it's getting really... bothersome." Twilight said, putting a hoof on the large scar that stretched across her face diagonally. It looked slightly better than it did before, but it was definitely going to be permanent. Unless they...
No, i'm not letting her take that pill.
"Just, prepare yourself guys. We don't know what they're going to do, so be ready for anything. But, most importantly, don't give in for my sake. I have a feeling they're going to use me against you."
It was the best warning I could currently give.
"I can't promise that fully Rex, and you know that." Twilight said, hopping off the bed. "I know what you'd do for me. If I weren't able to do the same, would I really be able to be called a friend of yours?"
I smiled. "As much as I'm happy to hear you say that, you're more special than I am. If you indulge in their requests, they'll use you for evil. I'd rather die, than have you two forced to do terrible things like what happened in the courtyard." I said, closing my eyes, remembering that graphic scene.
"What did happen in the courtyard anyways? You keep bringing it up, but you refuse to tell us."
"That's for good reason."
The door swung open, presenting JO-11. "Come on, let's go."
Five minutes my ass.
Canterlot
"How is this new 'failsafe' coming along, sister?"
"It's getting there. In the next four or so hours, we should have a finished product. It'll allow us to use magic no matter the circumstance. Without it, we'd be almost defenseless. We take magic for granted."
'You mean you take magic for granted? I've always realized its true power, dear sister. Even if you think so low of me, I do have standards. Unlike you."
Celestia groaned. "Sister, I thought we were done with this! You were fine earlier when I brought this new information to light, and now you're angry again? What is going on, sister?"
"You'd never understand. Nopony could understand. I've struggled more than anypony on this planet combined. And I continue to struggle while you watch blindly! You dare not even help your own family."
Celestia turned away from her sister. "Don't even go there, Luna. I tried to help you, but it seemed the only thing I could do to help you was to send you onto a rock for a thousand years. It seemed fitting, since you were always more obsessed with the night than real interaction. You have nopony but yourself to blame for that."
"I hope you know that once this is done, I'll be having a stern discussion with you, Tia. I'm done with your idiocy. I feel almost ashamed for having you as a sister."
Celestia never felt her heart burn so painfully.
"Sit." I was instructed by Tarbo himself, in a pure white room. Everything was... strange. The knot in my stomach only grew larger, knowing that what happened next would most likely prove to be painful. I took a seat in the odd looking chair, resting my arms on its sides. Suddenly, two metal bars clamped over my wrists. I looked down at them both, shaking my head. I knew it.
"You all have been very... annoying, as of late-" Tarbo said, eyeing me specifically. "You both possess a power that I want, that I need. I don't like going to the extreme, really, I don't, but you're forcing my hand here. I've extended the olive branch, and you've burned it. I'm ready to give you another one, but know that if you burn this one as well, there will be dire consequences."
Twilight and Starlight looked at eachother.
Please, god, don't let them-
"No." Twilight spoke. "No, I won't lend you my power. You've treated us as idiots, as slaves, and you expect us to hand it all over willingly? What you did to Starlight, what you did to Rex, and what you did to me is inexcusable. You burned the branch yourself."
Inside, you were happy that Twilight was finally standing up for herself. She wasn't timid, or weak like she used to be. Perhaps you were able to give her the tools she needed to finally break free of that shell of hers. Sadly, you knew what was going to come next. Your punishment, that is. You could almost throw-up at knowing what was going to happen.
"That's a shame. I was really hoping you would take it." Tarbo said with a smile. He motioned for JO-11 to come to his side. "Since you both have declined my offer, it'll be another punishment. Though, not exactly a punishment for the both of you. Well, actually, it depends on how you look at it. Either way, Rex will be our guinea pig today, once again."
I could see the fear in both Twilight and Starlight's eyes as they watched me. I gave a small nod to them.
"What do you want me to do?" JO-11 asked Tarbo in a polite tone.
Tarbo let a finger scratch at his chin. "Hmm.. I hadn't thought of that. We've already taken away half of his eyesight, and he's already missing a finger. Doing something too permanent might not be good. Perhaps another finger? No, that wouldn't make a difference. Oh, I know! JO-11, please, fetch the energy funnel."
JO-11 immediately went to the other side of the room, where many tables sat. It was all strange technology stuff that made absolutely no sense to me. He yanked a huge cord with a plug on the end that was connected to the wall, and handed it over to Tarbo, who nodded. "Thank you."
Tarbo held it in his hands, lifting it up for Starlight, Twilight, and I to all see. "This is exactly what the name implies. Energy is pushed through a funnel, and into this tube. You are supposed to attach it to someone's chest, to sustain a heartbeat. Like a defibrillator. However, if connected to the head-" He stuck the plug onto my head. "-and forced at high power, it can be quite... painful."
I wanted to puke again. "S-So what, you're going to fry my brain?"
"That depends on Starlight and Twilight here. Your life is within their... hooves."
I looked at them intensely. I wanted to live, but was I really the important person in this picture? There's plenty of good out in the world, it wouldn't make a difference if I didn't make it. I hoped that they wouldn't give in to Tarbo's devious plan, that they would instead look away and keep their mouths shut.
"JO-11, set it just over the max threshold, and start it."
"Yes sir."
Twilight stared at me with unmoving eyes, while Starlight stared at the floor as if it were the most interesting thing on the planet. Twilight's gaze was literally burning into me. It wasn't a look of fear, or anger, or even sadness. It was a blank stare. A dead stare.
The switch flipped.
In an instant, my body began to convulse. I screamed loudly in pain, my brain feeling like it was having the worst migraine it's ever had. My vision began to flash black and white, colors being distorted, and everything becoming wavy. My hands turned into fists as I tried to power my way through it, but it was already too much pain.
"More." I could hear feintly, to which the pain skyrocketed.
I was going to die.
Twilight's POV
We... stood there while he was dying.
I never saw someone be put through so much pain before. Rex's screams were painfully loud, and I could feel something climbing up to my chest. An overwhelming emotion that I hadn't felt on a level like this before. It was ready to burst at the seams, but I didn't know what it was.
"You have the power to stop this, both of you. You can either be selfish, or give your power to me. What will it be? Your friends life, or agreeing to my rules? It's not a hard choice, just make it quick. I don't think your friend will last much longer. We're already eighty percent over max. At the moment, his brain is suffering nearly at the point of no return. At one hundred percent over threshold, it'll be permanent damage each second that passes."
"Sir-" JO-11 spoke, "We're using too much power at the moment. It'll cause too much heat, and burst one of the batteries somewhere in the facility. Are we really willing to risk that? It'll cause a fi-"
"They're invaluable, JO-11. A battery, a couple of lives lost in a fire, are nothing compared to them."
I shook my head, staring at the floor. My emotions were becoming worse at the second. I tried to contain it.
"You can stop this, Twilight. In fact, you alone have the power to stop it. Dear Starlight doesn't seem as... how should I say it, important, compared to you. You're special. Your color, that beautiful shade of purple, is special in itself. You're one of the few important pieces in the universe. Recognize your potential. Recognize that you do deserve to be better than the rest." Tarbo spoke with a convincing tone. I wasn't going to fall for it, I knew how manipulative he could get. But, another word and I might-
"Turn it to 100%-"
I couldn't take it anymore. I screamed as loud as my lungs would let me, and the entire room was engulfed in a purple shockwave. All of the light's instantly turned off, and the tube that was connected to Rex's head stopped transferring energy. JO-11 looked down at me, pulling a pistol from his holster before I forced as much hate into my magic, and blasted him.
He was sent flying against the wall, hitting it. A sickening crack was heard.
Tarbo looked at me with his glow in the dark purple eyes, and I just knew he was smiling underneath. I could faintly see a finger pointing at me, before I blasted him as well. But, it didn't hit. He disappeared in a cloud of smoke. I yelled louder. I wanted to blast him, I wanted to kill him.
"Twilight!" I heard Starlight cry. I turned around, seeing her look at me with wide eyes, before nodding over to Rex. I turned to where Rex sat.
With a flick of my magic, I tore the metal bands from his wrists.
All of that pain that I had before suddenly disappeared in an instant. My mind was foggy, my body aching heavily. I was glad that I was able to think atleast basic thoughts. I could feel something pull at the metal bars from my wrists, but I couldn't see or hear anything. I was pulled from the chair suddenly, to which I fell onto my face.
I tried to speak, but nothing came out.
I was pulled up to my feet, that much I could feel. I felt an invisible force practically carrying me through the air, as if I was on a magic cloud. Was I dead, or was this magic? I groaned loudly as pain began to surge through me once again. My bones and muscles ached, my brain felt like it was literally on fire, and my eye's burned like I had a fever.
"Hey! Stop them!" I could hear yelling, and it got louder with each second that my ear's pulsed. Loud crackling sounds, sounds of electricity, and screams. A lot of screams, actually. What the hell was going on out there?! I was basically trapped in my own body, not able to do anything.
"Twi..lig.."
Wow, did I just say Twi-lig?
"Twiligh..t.."
Better.
"Twilight..!" I yelled as loud as I could, but I knew it only came out as a dry whisper. I could feel myself flying at an even faster pace now. I tried to open my eyes, but nothing happened.
Wait, my eye's were already open.
Why couldn't I see anything?!
"Rex, just... sit tight!" I heard someone yell. It was definitely Twilight's voice, but why did she sound panicked? My ears began to pulse again, and the sounds got louder. I could make out which direction the crackling sounds and sounds of electricity were coming from.
Those crackling sounds were... gunshots.
What's happening?!
Twilight's POV
I kept Rex in the air with my magic while we ran from corridor to corridor. The alarms must have been sent off, because red flashing lights and a blaring sound came from the speakers above. Also, the wave of people that were being sent at us was pretty much a given that they were informed.
I blasted as many as I could, while Starlight used her magic to shield the both of us from incoming bullets. It worked.
Running without a direction to go in wasn't a good plan though. I needed to find a way to get out of here. What if I teleported? That would require a good minute or two, and that's if I could. I tried earlier, but it hadn't worked. Then again, neither did the magic I'm using now.
I noticed a room to our left.
I barged in there, flying Rex in right after while Starlight followed quickly behind. "Barricade that door!" I yelled, before scanning the random room we had found ourselves in. Luckily, it was empty. There wasn't a single person inside. It looked to be a classroom of sorts, with desks littering the entire room.
I could hear multiple desks and chairs behind me fly over to the door from Starlight's magic. "O-Okay, now what?!"
"Come here, I'm going to try to teleport us out of here."
"Didn't you sa-"
"Shutup and come here!" I yelled. I wasn't in the mood to be questioned. Starlight did as I said, and huddled up next to me. I stared at the floor, intently concentrating. I silenced the sounds around me in my head, trying to concentrate on my emotions.
What was I feeling right now?
Anger. Hatred. Rage.
Yet, also fear, and another strange emotion that I can't quite pinpoint.
I was angry that they had hurt my friends. The things they did to Starlight was horrible, and she had told me in... detail, what had happened. Rex himself had lost an eye, and was tortured just earlier. Out of all three of us, I was the least injured, with only a scar that cut across my face.
"Get me out of here.." I said.
"Get me out of here.."
"Get us out of here.."
"Get us OUT OF HERE!"
My horn sparked with such intensity that it blinded myself. I shut my eye's, and shook my head. I could feel dirt below my hooves instead of tile, and I opened my eyes. Though, the brightness made me squint. We were officially outside, and we had teleported.
I floated Rex inside the house before me and Starlight walked inside.
The place was a mess. The floor was stained with blood, the storage room was partly burnt, and there was dirt everywhere. Atleast the bodies that laid dead on the floor from before were gone. I went straight to Rex's room before laying him on his bed, turning to Starlight.
"Can you board up the entrance?"
Starlight was silent, but obeyed. My ears flattened. Did she really take what I said earlier to heart? I didn't mean to make her feel bad when I told her to 'shutup,' but it was in the moment. Everything was stressing me out and I needed to concentrate. She could understand that, couldn't she?
"Twilight..?" I heard a dry whisper from the bed.
I turned to Rex, seeing his eyes open and staring at the ceiling. I made my way to the side of his bed, resting a hoof onto his arm. "Yeah, I'm here Rex. We're okay, we're safe. We made it back to the house with a teleportation spell. Quite handy, huh?" I said, trying to lighten the mood.
He didn't laugh.
"I.. I can't see." He said, his eyes still staring lifelessly up at the ceiling.
"What?"
"I can't see anything. I- I can't see!"
He began to panic quickly, but I pushed my hoof down onto his arm. "Shh-shh, stay still. Let me check your eyes, alright? It's fine, it's okay." With my words, he stopped moving around violently. He kept his eyes open, to which I got up onto the bed beside him and looked into his eyes.
They were perfectly fine, if not a little red from the tiny tears that he had gained from his panic.
If his eyes were fine, then it must be internal. Did the electricity fry his eyes from the inside out? Or is his vision just.. distorted for a little while, from the head trauma? There were a lot of questions, but not a lot of answers to any of it. I shook my head. "They're fine. It'll wear off soon, I'm sure. You aren't blind."
His right arm shot up to grab onto my left hoof. "..promise?"
I didn't know if what I said was true, but I knew that saying nothing would make it worse. "I promise, Rex. Just, get some rest. Let me and Starlight deal with the rest, okay? You've had a... painful start, to the day." I said, hopping off the bed. I headed to the door before I heard his voice again.
"Wait."
I turned to him, slowly walking back to his side. "What is it?"
"Luci.. Tarbo gave me Luciferium.. He tricked me into taking it. It slowly causes death if not taken within the coming week. I-I have one pill of it in storage. B-Bring it to me." His voice was shaky.
"W-Wait.. It causes death in the coming week- what if we don't have any after that?"
He shrugged with a pained smile. "Guess that's when my expiration date hits..."
I looked at him with an angered look. "That's not funny at all Rex! Y-You could.. How do we find more of these pills?!"
He shrugged, still staring at the ceiling. "They're extremely rare. Only the highest tech can craft them. Tarbo tricked me into taking it as a way of forcing me to cooperate. If I left, I'd end up dead. If I stayed, they'd give me more of those pills and I'd live. I'd rather be here and die, than over there and forced into torture."
"I'll... I'll find a way to get you more of those. A week, right? We have one left, so that gives us two weeks. Two weeks.." I repeated, trying to find a plan stashed somewhere in my head, even knowing that it was no use. It was going to be a miracle to be able to find something that rare in a wasteland like this. And, the only traders we have come across were tribals. I doubt they'd have any.
"Don't force yourself. Focus on the both of you. I'm a burden right now."
"Stop that. You aren't a burden. I am finding a way, no matter what."
He sighed. "Guess that's what I get for making friends, huh?"
"Magic, ain't it?" I said before popping out of the room.
My vision, within the few hours after being put in bed, started actually coming back. Twilight was right.
It was still weirdly colored though. Things were random colors. Brown was blue, all of that kind of stuff. It didn't make me colorblind though, as the colors eventually began to fade to their normal colors. I was just glad I wasn't going to be tortured anymore. That alone was making me extremely happy.
But the one thing that didn't make me happy? Was the figure standing in my room.
Ever since my vision slowly came back, a figure that was see-through with a red outline stood in the corner of my room, staring at me. It had red eyes as well, as if it wasn't already scary enough. I waved my hand lazily at it, trying to get it to move or something, but it did nothing.
That was until I sat back.
"Sorry, I was doing something."
What in the fuc-
"I was thinking, that's all."
The strangest part about this figure was that he spoke in my voice. Actually, the closer I looked at it, it was an outline of me. Whatever that weird electric device had done to me, had certainly made me go crazy, because this was no way actually happening. I stared at it, pointing a finger. "What- how?!"
"It's magic~!" It said back to me, before laughing. "Oh jesus- that's- sorry, I had to."
"What the hell are you?" I asked. "Are you-"
"Me? Or, you? Yeah, I'm me. Also known as you. Why?"
I shook my head, closing and opening my eyes, as if it was going to disappear. "Okay, I'm insane."
"Nah. Whatever that crazy, weird fuck did, finally got your real eyes open."
I shook my head. "No, I'm actually insane. That shit melted a big part of my brain, and now I'm seeing... you."
"You know, I'd agree with you if I was you, but I'm me, who is also you, so I can't agree. Think of me as like... an angel? Nah, definitely not. Used to be."
"What do you mean, used to be?" I asked.
"I fell. Pretty far, actually. You know, this would never be possible without those two. I never had a... lets say, physical form, until they showed up. Magic leaks from magical creatures, you know?"
"No.. I don't."
It shrugged. "I can't really explain it to you. It's nothing you can understand. Like, here, watch this."
It snapped it's fingers.
Moment's later, Twilight popped her head in the room. "Rex?"
"Y-Yeah?"
"What was that..?"
I shrugged, ignoring the figure. "W-What was what?"
"I felt a shift.. in.. You know, it's probably me going crazy. Sorry." And, with that, she left the room. I turned immediately to the figure, to which it shrugged, looking over to where Twilight had popped her head in.
"I'm real. As real as it can get. Have I proven myself yet?"
I didn't say anything. I simply stared.
"Pft, what's with that look? You look like you saw a ghost. Look, things are kind of weird right now. But, just know, that when all of this is over, and you find yourself- actually, I can't say that. I can't ruin the surprise in the future, can I? That'd be so rude of me! Lord knows there's someone else waiting on the edge of their seat, can't ruin that surprise for them."
It shrugged, now pacing around the room. "God, you remember that day? That was probably the bloodiest day we've encountered. She was terrified of us, you know. Running out there, calling the cops on us. Crazy shit, huh? Now look at us. I think that's the most memorable day for me."
I shook my head. "The fuck are you talking about?"
"You remember the day fondly, don't you? The day you killed your father."
My breathing stopped.
"Or, well, the day we killed your father."
"The fuck do you mean?" I asked angrily, not having a fun time remembering the details of that day.
"God, I remember that feeling. Your rage, your anger, just surging up through you. You remember when you screamed, right? That wasn't you. You know, after all this time, that's been the only thing I've been ever able to say until now. Just a low, demonic yell. You didn't think anything weird of it, huh?"
I shook my head, pointing my finger at it. "Y-You're a fucking demon or some shit!"
"What? Me? No. Though, consider me a guiding force. I like to push things in a general direction from time to time. And god has it been boring without anyone to talk to. I mean, after all those days of speaking without anyone listening, you'd think I'm crazy! But, now look at me, all real. Well, mostly-" It said, waving it's hand through it's body. "Close enough."
I looked up at the ceiling. Was I really going insane? Perhaps I was. Perhaps this was another method of torture. Perhaps I was still locked up in that chair, being fed delusional thoughts to see if I might buy into it. Would Tarbo do something like that? Abso-fucking-lutely.
"You know, those little ponies I've really gotta' thank. Their.. let's say, magical essence, has leaked off of them and into you. And, from you, into me. And now I'm here! I can finally move around and stuff, like a real person. It's quite odd though. Instead of seeing everything at once, I can only see it from my, also known as your, perspective. It's flawed, really."
"Jesus christ get me out of here-"
Twilight's POV
After some experiments in the living room, I've obtained almost full power.
How? I have no idea. I can't go into research as I don't have the tools necessary for it. The only thing that isn't available? Long range teleportation, funnily enough. The one thing that got me stuck here in the first place. But everything from magic-blasts, to shield generation, to even things like flight are finally back.
Starlight was busy doing.. well, nothing really. She was sitting in the corner of the room, staring blankly at the floor. I had apologized to her earlier, but she simply brushed it off with a smile. I knew it was more serious than that, but honestly, after all we've been through she's upset at something as simple as that? It's a little aggravating, but I don't hold it against her. I've adapted better than she has.
Something weird pulsed from Rex's room earlier as well. A magic pulse, to be exact. I could feel the shift in the room, and I immediately went to check it out, only to find... nothing? I was confused, but I didn't question it. We were all quite tired from the little event that we had today.
The one thing I do know is that we can't stay here for long.
Tarbo know's exactly where we went, I'm sure of it. He's not dumb, and he is probably sending people here right now to get us. Whether for capture, or to kill, is the question. Either way, I'm not sticking around and letting Starlight, Rex, or me get hurt. From the energy I used to teleport here, I can determine that it's atleast a day or two away in distance. That gives us today, but we need to move tomorrow.
Will Rex be okay to move tomorrow? I don't know.
I'm thinking about putting him into a medical stasis like I did before. It'll definitely help fix anything that might've gotten hurt from the electricity, but at the cost of him not being with us for that duration. He'd be in a coma, and we'd be down a person. As much as I don't like it, him staying awake with us will even our odds of survival.
Atleast, from a statistical standpoint.
Rex has done so much for me and Starlight. He took me in when I was scared and helpless, and taught me a lot of things. He says he's only the 'handyman' and doesn't know much about other stuff, but that would discredit his ability. He's built mechanical turrets! Even with a blueprint, that's pretty good. And, he's always been nice. He's rough around the edges, but I understand why.
He hasn't had a good upbringing like I, or Starlight have had. He knows the rough way of life, and it's benefited him in the worst way possible. How so? Well, he's able to live here because he went through hardship. The worst part is, he went through that rough life when he was young. The things that happened to him are inexcusable.
Also, when we got our new rooms, I was at odds. Sleeping in a room without Rex in it felt...
Wrong.
I can't explain it. I can't put my tongue on it- but there's something in my head bashing me over and over again with... something. I want to know what it is, but I don't think I'll ever know what it is. It's definitely magical, or... maybe not? I don't know! I'm a scientist, not a... scienis- whatever!
Point is, I'm confused.
I think I know what it is, and what it might be trying to say, but it just seems so far off. It seems impossible to me to even think that it might be a possibility. But, I guess, I should consider it as a possibility. Even at the worst of times, such as what's happening right now, I should take it into account.
I forced myself to stand up, to confront the damn abomination in my room.
It casually leaned against the wall away from me, but still looking in my direction. "I'd love to explain a lot of things, Rex, I really would. But I just can't. You can't rush these things. They aren't in your ability. Just let things play out, and you'll understand all that I say."
"How?" I asked, leaning against the wall, though not as casual as he. I was using it more for balance. "You expect me to just.. believe this shit? That you're some guiding force in the universe or whatever? That you're a higher being? The only thing I remember closely to that is God, and you definitely ain't in his image."
It shook it's head, laughing. "No, no. I'm not a guiding force in the universe. I'm... well, I can't say, can I? I'm sure others might have guessed-"
"What others?"
It smirked. "Rex, there are things you don't want to know. It's better if I just keep it to myself. Or, yourself? Who is Rex in this situation, exactly?"
"Me!"
It walked over to the door, phasing its head through the door before looking at me. "That Twilight is fond of you, you know. After staying together for months on end, there was bound to be something that happened. I'm surprised you haven't felt anything like that, though. What, still stuck on Melissa? She's probably dea-"
"Don't you fucking say that." I growled. "That's not.."
"Rex, what in the hell are the possibilities of her surviving, huh? I'll tell you, because I know. It was zero. You yourself are a cosmic fluke. You weren't supposed to be here. I didn't even have control over that. You were the lucky one, Rex. Everyone else in that ship perished. It's been over two years. It's time for you to move the fuck on."
"I'm just supposed to believe yo-"
"Yes!" It yelled. "You are supposed to just believe me. I'm the only thing in existence that can tell you this, Rex. You're the only being in existence that has actually seen me. That wasn't supposed to be possible, but here we are. Like I said, you're a cosmic fluke. Something that wasn't meant to be but happened anyways. You're special."
I laughed, facing my head up towards the ceiling, closing my eyes. "Like hell I am. Why the fuck would the universe pick me for something, huh? A trillion other fucking people and I'm chosen? Yeah fucking right-"
"Well, if it can be any of those trillion people, why is it so hard to believe its you?"
"Because if it was me, why isn't it those other people?"
"For the same fact that it could've been those other people and not you."
I sighed. We were getting nowhere, and Twilight and Starlight could be listening on the other end of that god-damn door, thinking I've gone crazy. I mean, to them, I'm just talking to think air, right? Twilight didn't see him standing in my room. And, they can't hear him, or else they'd hear how loud he is. My voice is a little scratchier, so it's not as loud as his. Big difference.
"I'll leave you be for now, Rex. I'll give you a day. But, I'm not the only one giving you a day. Someone's gonna' knock on your door. You willing to be the one to open it?"
With that, the figure standing in my room disappeared in a red hazy mist. What in the hell was he talking abo-
Tarbo!
"Twili- Twilig-" I said before I tripped and fell onto the floor. Within seconds, I could hear somebody sprint down the hallway. The door opened. I saw a set of sympathetic eyes staring at me, shaking her head.
"What happened?"
"I.. tried to get up to talk to you."
I could feel myself get floated back onto the bed. I snuggled into its warmth comfortably, before poking my head from the blanket. "Look- Tarbo is on us. He know's where we went for sure, right? He has to-"
"I can indicate location based on how strong the spell was. That teleportation spell is about a three day walk. We'll be fine until tomorrow, I promise. But once tomorrow comes, we have to move out of here. Are you okay with that? How are you feeling?"
I shrugged. "I'm feeling alive. My brain isn't fried. Well, actually, that might still be a mystery. There's obviously some things wrong with me that I can't feel."
"What do you mean?"
I shook my hand dismissively at her. "Don't worry about it, just go and... shit, what have you been doing?"
"Comforting Starlight and putting some of the place back together. Repairing that door was quite easy with a lot of my magic now being free'd. I almost forgot what it was like living with magic. I mean, sure, I could do the basic stuff but it wasn't anything major. Now I'm who I used to be."
"The same cute, adorable pony? Yeah, I agree." I said with a smirk, which earned me an odd look and a blush.
"Whatever." She dismissed. "Just get some rest, alright? I'll.. find something to do. I don't want to bother you all da-"
"Please- Please bother me all day." I begged. "Being alone in this room is so, so boring. I need something- I need someone, anything."
"Are you sure? I can get quit-"
"Have you forgotten that we've lived together for months now? Shut up and get up on here." I said with a smile, patting the spot next to me. She eagerly hopped up on it, sitting down and leaning into the warmth of my blankets. I provided her with a pillow to lay her chin on. "Wait, what about Starlight?"
"She needs time to herself. I know she's going through a lot right now. I'm sure she'll join us eventually."
"Right." I said, laying a lazy hand on top of her, before her wings instantly shot out. "WHA-"
Her face turned instantly red. "S-Sorry! It's been so long since they've been.. usable, that they're a little.." The wings folded back in. "..sensitive."
"Ah, my fault. I should've known. Anyways, what are we going to talk about? The hell is there to talk about? Please don't explode my mind with some random shit about.. fuck, I don't know, being able to move clouds? I remember you saying that you guys are able to control the weather in your world. The fucking privileged man!"
"Mnh... Whaaat?" I groaned loudly, turning over and opening my eye. I looked to my left, where Twilight and Starlight both happened to be standing. Starlight didn't seem to be smiling, but Twilight sure was. Yesterday sure was a roller coaster of topics. Too many to think about right now.
"It's time to get moving. We've already gathered up what we can, so we're ready!" Twilight said with her smile still persisting. I, for one, didn't like the idea of moving around. I mean, I knew it was necessary, but that didn't make it any more fun for me in the slightest. With a groan, I hopped off of the bed.
"First, I need to change clothes. It's been way too long since I've been wearing this shitty outfit." I said, immediately leaving the room for the storage room. Once I stepped inside, I forgot that a big chunk of it was set on fire, so some of the things we used to have were burnt.
"Fuck." I said with another groan, searching through the piles of shit we had piled up in the room. I wasn't one for organization, really. I picked up an old synthread black shirt. Actually, that was the shirt I landed here with. It was regulatory for the ship. I took a pair of beat up old dark blue jeans, and a brown duster to cover it all.
The outfit seemed good enough. Sure, it wasn't the best in the slightest, but it would do.
After I put the duster on, I searched for a hat. I don't know why, but I needed something to pull the outfit together. And, I found what I wanted. In the far corner, opposite of the burnt shit, laid a nice black leather cowboy hat. Now, I know, I'm not one that really looks the best with it, but it sure would help with the sun if we're travelling long distances.
I then began to search for a rifle. My trusty old one was nowhere to be found, sadly. I guess two years with a rifle is pretty good, but I still missed the old damn thing. I managed to find Twilight's revolver, which somehow was here and my rifle wasn't, and an old rusty auto-pistol. It'd do, and I had plenty enough magazines for it. There wasn't a gun here for Starlight, but something tells me that she wouldn't want to use one. She's been quiet as of recently.
Actually, now that I think about it, it's been mainly me and Twilight talking.
Alright, two more items and I'm good to go. I need to find a bag. Anything would do, but the biggest bag I could find was an old two-strap leather bag. It was one I bought off some traders during my first few months here, so It'd have to do. It seems all the actual valuable shit got burned up in the fire. My dumbass apparently thought putting all of that next to the batteries was a good idea.
Alright, now to find the luciferium.
It'd be unmistakable. It's a pure white bag with a singular pill inside of it. I searched around, growing a little worried with each minute that passed by. I could hear Twilight call for me in the other room, but I needed to find this thing. I pushed and pulled everything, trying to find it, before-
I stared at the burnt rubble, seeing a light tinge of red ash.
No. It couldn't be, could it? I shook my head, denying that it was true, flipping and throwing things around the room in a panic. It had to be somewhere here, right?! It couldn't have just conveniently burnt up in the goddamn fire! That can't be how this ends, right? It can't be..
"Rex!" I heard, this time in the room with me. "W-What is going on?!"
I turned to her, my face obviously panicked. "The luciferium- I-It bur-" I pointed to the burnt rubble with a shaky hand. That single fucking pill was my ticket. It was the only thing that would keep me alive for one more week. Now I had six days, since it kicked in the day before. Six days before I died a horrible, painful death. All because of a stupid fucking pill!
Twilight gave me a saddened look, seeing the burnt red dust. She didn't freak out, but instead came up beside me and put a hoof onto my leg. She looked up to me, shaking her head. "We'll find a way, alright? We will."
That seemed a little more confident than the Twilight I know, but it definitely helped calm my nerves. "You think..?"
"Yes. If we start moving now, it'll give us more time to find what you need. It isn't over yet, Rex. It isn't. You still have plenty of time. Don't think about it, alright?"
That's quite hard to do, considering my life was now on a timer. A timer, with a painful alarm clock.
I nodded my head, giving her a strained smile before following her into the main room. There sat Starlight, awaiting us.
"Alright." Twilight said with a nod. "Let's get moving. With most of my magic back, this'll make things a whole lot easier."
"Wait-" I interrupted. "Where do we head? We could accidentally move right towards Tarbo's base, and get caught up with them again."
"Nope." Twilight said with a shake of her head. "From the direction I teleported from, his kingdom is in the west. So, we head east. We constantly keep a day ahead of them, and they'll pause here, looking for us. We'll be way off their radar at that point."
As much as I wanted to kill the fucker, I knew that I wouldn't really be able to do that. So, this was the best plan we had. Keep moving in front of them, so they never catch up. I kind of wish that I never had to deal with any of this. I want to live my peaceful life, with two ponies, in the house I just built.
Damn.. I was so proud of this place, too.
Canterlot
"Are we ready?" Luna asked Celestia, who was currently overseeing the operation in the science laboratory. Many scientists that were pony, and even non-pony, were working around the clock to get everything underway. Celestia turned to her sister with a slightly angered look.
"We are almost ready. Why would you care, dear sister?"
"Just because my anger is towards you, doesn't mean I don't care about dear Twilight and Starlight."
"Mph." Celestia looked over at the scientists. "How long?"
"Well-" A Griffon walked up to the both of them. He was grey and black, with his wings having light blue tips. "We are thinking that it's going to be done within the hour. The safety feature was already put into place, so even if there isn't magic there, you'll still be able to use it freely. We've already made sure that each soldier that we're sending in has enchanted armor that has damage suppression, and oxygen that can be injected through the body. All safety precautions are good to go."
"What soldiers are we sending in?" Luna asked curiously.
"Well, we're planning to send in a mix of Night and Day. We've already supplied the few we're sending in with the appropriate armor. There's one big problem with this entire plan, though."
"And that would be?" Celestia asked, her brows furrowing.
"When we open the portal to go through, we don't know what on the other side. If it's toxic, it can leak through. If it's dangerous, it can come through. We have to remember that this is a two-way portal. We might have direct access there, but so does the other side. We'll need guards to watch this side of the portal while they're out there."
"That can be arranged." Luna said with a nod. "This is of dire nature, so expending a few guards from their regular posts to watch this won't be an issue. In fact, it'll most likely relieve the guards of their mundane tasks. Though, I can't imagine watching a portal is much fun either."
"You said within the hour, correct?" Celestia asked, practically ignoring her sister.
"Yes, that's correct."
"Has my armor been provided with the necessary enchantments?" Celestia asked.
"Wait-" Luna interrupted quickly. "What do you mean your armor?"
"I'm going with them." Celestia said, not daring to look at her sister. "Not only do I care much about Twilight, it will also prove to you that I care about her more than you might think. You don't think I'd be in danger, do you?"
"No. So that's why I'll be going with as well."
"Sister." Celestia said, now turning to her. "If one leaves, the other needs to stay. Who will rule over Equestria during our departure?"
"If it works out as good as you say, it won't even be a day." Luna said with a smirk. "Dear Scientist, could you please enchant my armor as well? You have full access to my living quarters to get it. And, please, don't scratch it. Although I don't intend to wear it often, I do like the look."
"Yes, Princess." The griffon went back to his group of scientists, telling them what the conversation was about. A moment later, two scientists left to retrieve Luna's armor. Celestia groaned, flicking her hair as she did so.
"Luna, I understand you want to be included on everything, really, I do. But this isn't your job."
"It isn't yours either. I don't recall taking in a student as part of being a Princess. In fact, that's not required. Therefore, you're putting all of Equestria into this operation because of her. Therefore, this may not be my job, but it isn't yours either. Twilight is a dear friend of mine, maybe not as close as a true friend, but still a friend nonetheless. I will do whatever I can to make sure she comes back alive."
"You just don't want to be the Princess that does nothing while the other risks her life, hm? Petty."
Luna grinned. "Your ego is getting to you, sister. I wonder which will prevail, your ego, or your image."
"Fuck-"
"What?"
"I stubbed my toe on that damn rock!" I groaned, looking back at the rock as if it tried to murder me. This earned me a giggle from Twilight and Starlight. Starlight was still quiet as usual, but she seemed to make little sounds here and there, or laugh alone with me and Twilight. She might've started to warm up to us once again. "How far have we been walking?"
"Only six or so hours. What, are you feeling tired already?" Twilight asked sassily, to which I flipped her off.
"Oh shut up. You guys and your magic. I'm just a regular human, with nothing special. Of course I'm tired- shit, my head was practically fried yesterday. I'm surprised I'm still alive after that shit."
"Maybe something was watching over you. But, yeah, I understand. There's a big rock formation over there with a cave, how about we sit out of the shade for a little while?"
"Pft. Like hell anything watched over me." I said with a smirk, heading in the direction she pointed in before-
"Oh really now?"
Fuck.
The red outline thing came back. And, currently, it was walking backwards in the direction I was walking towards. I knew I couldn't speak to it, or else Twilight and Starlight might look at me crazy. The best thing I could do was to try and ignore it. That's all I could do.
"Oh come on now, who's to say I wasn't looking out for my good buddy?" It asked. "I mean, we spent so long together. I wasn't about to let your head get turned into mush because some asshole decided that it was fun to watch. I mean, that's just dumb."
I groaned quietly, as to not cause any looks from the two.
"You're so rude, you know that? You could atleast talk to me. I've been nothing but friendly to you-" It said, now sitting in mid air, while floating backwards. "Or perhaps you're jealous that you can't do what I can? I mean, it's not exactly fun when you've been doing it for years and years on end, but I suppose to a new person it'd be the joy of the universe."
Jesus christ this thing won't stop talking!
"I can see you're getting angry. I'll get out of your head for now, but just remember, I'm always watching over you. Don't worry, I won't let anything bad happen to my good pal Rex. It'd be too bad if that happened." As soon as he stopped speaking, he disappeared in a red mist like before. I looked up to the sky, closing my eyes as I walked.
Thank go-
I tripped over a rock. This time, it successfully made me fall. I braced myself with my hands, before lifting myself back up quickly. "Jesus.."
"You okay there? That's the second one." Twilight asked.
"Your keeping score? Let's just get to the damn cave."
Twilight gave me a sassy look once again, before continuing the walk. It didn't take much longer until we were under the wondrous shade of the cave. It was shallow, too. It was only a good fifty or so feet deep. Didn't have to worry about anything like insectoids or some shit.
God, those big ass fucks really creep me out.
"God I'm tired.." I said, setting my bag to the side and laying on my back. Twilight and Starlight both sat down next to eachother before they started to whisper to one another. I looked at them with a strange look, sitting up slightly. "Hey, what the hell? What's so secretive right now that you two have to whisper about it?"
"Sh." Was the only response I got from Twilight while they continued.
Jeez, I suppose I'm left out on this one. I'll entertain myself with my own thoughts then. Not like I haven't been doing that for years on end. Now, I suppose the first thing I should probably think about is-
Well, how about we start with that red mist thing?
The weirdest part about it is that it talks and looks exactly like me, albeit in a red outline. It even wore the clothes I changed into this time. So, either it was mimicking whatever I am, or it's just my head making up shit. Could I really begin to believe that there's this cosmic being watching over me? I mean, I'm not that special. Hell, I'm not a good person, so why would it choose me?
That day that I killed my father. That yell I did right afterwards was one of the most memorable things from that day. And, funnily enough, I remember it fondly because it didn't feel like me at all. And, it explained that it was him instead. Could that even be true? If so, how? I don't really understand anything that's going on right now.
Everything has been moving too fast these past few days. I mean, I get raided, I get tortured, I get forced to eat a death-pill, and my brain gets shocked. Oh, and I have one eye. Not only that, but I also have some weird red mist outline doppelganger that runs around, and only I can see it.
Jesus christ, I want to just chill in my house, cooking up some muffalo meat and potatoes.
I guess before it was mundane because it was happening everday. Cooking, eating, going back to work or researching, building whatever, then to sleep. Sure, with Twilight coming into the picture things got spiced up, but the work was the same. Now, after all the shit that's happened, I want that sameness in my life. All this change has not been good so far.
"Not true!" I heard Twilight yell, before giving me a glance. She seemed a little embarrassed, before continuing to whisper with Starlight.
Now, what was I thinking again? Oh, yeah. I want my regular life back. It was boring, but it was livable. It was simple, and life went on as usual. I never got to use those hydroponic basins, I never got to use a lot of stuff that I planned on using. And those turrets I built didn't help when it counted.
All that time spent on bullshit, I suppose.
God, I don't know where you are or if you're real, but why?
I mean, why did you put all of this stuff on me? You bless me with a caring mother, and curse me with a destructive father. Then you take my mother away from me, and give me a fresh start. You give me the chance to become successful, and a decent friendship with a girl I loved, only to take all that away from me once again.
You then send me onto this desolate shithole, only for you to bless me with being able to survive it all. Then, you bless me with Twilight after awhile, and then Starlight, only to curse me with being tortured and having to watch them both be hurt. And, you turned the one friend I before them into a traitor.
Now Twilight has a giant scar that goes diagonal across her face, and Starlight had to endure something I never wish upon someone at all. If you're real, what the fuck was it all for? Was it all a test? Was it to hurt me, or to provide entertainment? I don't get it. So many people believe in you, yet all of this stuff still happens to us.
Maybe I'm not in the right to question you. But no one is in the right to do anything, really.
I honestly hope that you're real, that there's something else out there besides myself that is looking over me. Not that weird red mist fuck, but something else. I suppose I want to believe that God is good, and that he's here to help. But maybe he's not here to help at all.
"Nopony in sight." A guard said as him and many other's fawned out in the yard of Rex's now abandoned house. Both Celestia and Luna scanned the landscape for any noticeable clues that they could find. Surprisingly, there was nothing there that indicated that Twilight or Starlight were even there, but they hadn't checked everything.
"The house." Celestia said, pointing a hoof towards it. "Search it. This place looks quite barren and destroyed."
"Yes Princess." A guard had said, immediately gathering a few others to search the house before Celestia and Luna stepped foot inside. It was a precaution. It's better to have someone get the jump on them, instead of the Princess'. However, Luna didn't like that very much.
"We're capable on our own, Celestia. We don't need the guards to protect us from every little thing."
"You say that now, but until you are faced into a position where you need the guards, you won't know."
Luna groaned, immediately following the guards inside the house. The insides seemed beat up and destroyed, especially dirty. Well, that was true for the main room. Down the hallway, it got cleaner and nicer, as if the scuffle was only present in the living room. Luna looked down at the dirt that was inside, where small footprints were able to be spotted. They looked like a mix of hoof-like prints and... well, she couldn't identify it.
It wasn't enough to go off of.
"Wow. A bit of this room certainly went alight. Still though, a lot of equipment scattered around." A guard said to another, which had peaked Luna's ears. She followed the voices into the storage room, where an entire corner of the room was ash and burnt. The entire room was filled with random items and equipment, some that she had never seen before. She could definitely make out clothes though.
While the guards continued to search through the room, Luna became interested in a desk that was placed in the corner opposite of the burnt one. She hesitantly stepped towards it, before realizing there was nothing to be afraid of. There were multiple papers scattered all over with writing.
She read them
Although Rex seems to despise the idea of a Nutrient Paste Dispenser, it might just be what we need. It'll cut down food cost, and definitely save us from trouble later on. Sure, it might not be the most appetizing thing in the world, but sometimes survival doesn't need to be pretty.
The only problem with the idea is that after careful reading of the blueprint, there seems to be a part missing. Specifically, the part where it actually takes the nutrients from the food and pours it into paste-like form. This would be easy to do with magic, but mine is limited at the moment, and I don't exactly know how to do that mechanically.
Still, I'll be continuing this research. It's impressive what these humans have come up with. Advanced weaponry I've never seen before, advanced technology in the highest degree, and an understanding for complicated science. Although they might not be the nicest of people, they still aren't non-intelligent apes.
Stil
Note: Don't let Starlight touch my pen while I'm writing.
Edit: Starlight did nothing wrong, Twilight is just being rude.
Note: Don't let Starlight touch my notes.
Note: Kick Starlight out of the room for the day.
"Celestia!" Luna yelled.
"Don't yell, Sister. I'm right here."
"Read this." Luna said, grabbing the paper in her magic before floating it over in front of Celestia. Celestia gazed over the paper, reading it intensely and quickly. A grin formed on her face.
"So she is alive. This is definitely her writing, and even Starlight's."
Luna nodded. "It seems so. They must have lived with somepony else named 'Rex.' An interesting name. Although a certain quote from this paper does not make me feel so delighted as the news that she is alive."
Celestia nodded her head. "She stated that the creatures here aren't exactly nice. However, we don't know when this was written. This could be just from her innocence of not dealing with heavier threats. She has saved Equestria multiple times, sure, but the older days of Equestria were much more bloody. She is still known to have anxiety."
Luna disagreed. "Something tells me this wasn't written far long ago, and dear Sister, hasn't her writing changed? She doesn't seem the same as we once knew her-" Both Luna's and Celestia's ears perked to the sound of a commotion going on outside. The guards inside the room immediately went out to check it out, followed by the Princess'.
As soon as they stepped outside, multiple bipedal creatures were standing in a line in front of the house. There were atleast twenty or so of them. Luna gave a look of uncertainty to Celestia, but Celestia seemed calm, and severely intrigued. Despite her earlier comment about 'safety,' she seemed to be intent on not regarding them as potentially dangerous.
"Well well well, I didn't expect this in the slightest." A bipedal creature said, standing in front of the rest in what seemed to a tuxedo. His purple eye's scanned their guards and themselves. "I must say, this is quite the surprise. Especially at this house, of all places."
"I am Princess Celestia, and this is Princess Luna and our guard." Celestia stated, giving a smile. "Would you be able to provide your assistance in a most dire matter?"
"It depends on the matter. We are also in a dire situation ourselves."
"We are looking for somepony." That word seemed to have an odd effect on the creature. "A purple alicorn that goes by the name Twilight Sparkle. As well as, a lilac colored unicorn, that goes by the name of Starlight. Do you perhaps know the location of either of them?"
A smile formed on the creatures face, before what seemed to be a fake frown was presented. Atleast, that's what Luna thought.
"We are in the same situation then. A murderous and psychotic man named Rex had taken the both of them. After we stumbled across this house here, we had a scuffle with them. We took Starlight and Twilight into our care, but Rex had free'd himself and taken them once again. We had thought to come here looking for clues."
"That doesn't-"
Luna was cut off by Celestia. "Are they hurt?"
"Poor Twilight has a scar on her face because of the encounter, and dear Starlight was used in ways that could only be done by the most psychotic and disturbed individual. Rex, is that individual. However, I don't think he intends to kill either of them, or significantly maim them in any way. However, time is of the essence."
"Celesti-"
"What is you name, Sir?"
"Tarbo." Tarbo said with a smile. "I will be glad to help. However, it seems that your associate beside you has something on her mind. I'm willing to listen."
Celestia looked at Luna, before Luna spoke. "None of what you say makes sense. Why would Twilight and Starlight write a paper and mention Rex in it without any ill will? It doesn't seem like an unfriendly encounter to me in the slightest. And you had very little to no security if this was indeed true, allowing him to escape and grab the both of them."
"That is what we plan to fix this time around." Tarbo said with a nod. "We intend to put him down without a second thought. When the chance presents itself, we will take the shot, and end the murderous rampage that he has gone on. In fact, with your help, we know that we'll be almost unstoppable. He is alone, from what we know."
Luna shook her head. "And I am supposed to believe that Twilight and Starlight, both ponies that I have seen perform wondrously in combat encounters, were not able to fight back or atleast attempt an escape?"
"Both of their magic reserves were limited. We don't know why, but it is what it is. I believe it may be the same for you."
Celestia shook her head. "No. We are unaffected."
"Demonstrate, please?"
Celestia nodded before tilting her head forward, allowing a beam of light to be shot through the sky, parting the clouds above with a thunderous sound. She then resumed her pose with a smile, happy that she was able to demonstrate her immense power to an unknowing individual.
"Impressive. You will definitely be helpful. However, it would be the best if all of you were on the same page. I don't feel that your associate is onboard with helping us. If that is so, we will simply be on our way and leave the problem up to you. We can't risk any interference with the operation."
Celestia nodded before giving a glare at Luna. "Luna, what do you say?"
"I say this is a bad idea, Sister. I don't trust them."
She nodded, before turning to Tarbo. "We accept."
"What? Sister, I-"
Within seconds, Luna completely seized up and fell to the ground, a feint gold glow surrounding her body. Tarbo didn't seem phased by it in the slightest, and simply looked at Luna as she fell to the ground. With a tilt of his head, he looked back to Celestia. "What was the reason?"
"I intended to come alone to solve this problem. I will do it alone with my guard if it is required. I put a paralysis spell on her, disabling all body function and magic function. I'll release her once we are done." Celestia looked down to Luna. "I am deeply sorry for this, Sister. But if your interference risks the life of my student and her friend, then I won't allow it."
"You're acting insane, Sister! This is not who you are in the slightest!" Luna thought, her eyes staring wide at Celestia. She really couldn't move, just as Celestia had said, and her horn lightly sparked whenever she tried to use any magic. She was, as said, paralyzed.
"Move her into the house, please." Celestia told the guards, to which they all hesitantly nodded. Despite Luna having 'equal' power in Equestria, her return still was met with hesitant arms. The majority of Equestria's loyalty was towards Celestia. Some didn't even know Luna existed.
"I will station four of my men here in the house with her. They will ensure her safety. We are, after all, the most powerful empire on the planet, with the strongest and most advanced technology, both in typical, and military sense. Your sister will be safe."
"Good." Celestia said with a nod. "Now, tell me.."
"Who is this 'Rex?'"
"It's almost night now. We should really, really find a place to stop." I said with a groan, shuffling my feet mindlessly in the same direction as we had been travelling in for the past seven or so hours now. Twilight looked back at me with a sympathetic look.
"..Alright, but we seriously need to find someone we can get more of those pills from."
"Twilight, I've already told you. Luciferium is one of the rarest drugs on the Rim. The possibi-"
"Don't say that!" Twilight yelled, staring a hole into me. "I don't care what you told me. We are finding more of it for you, and that's not a debate. I will find a way."
I sighed, knowing that there would be no reason in arguing with her. I scanned around the desolate landscape, looking for anywhere that we could possibly stay at. There was another cave that seemed decently shallow. I pointed in its direction. "Hey, there's a cave over there. It looks decent enough to sleep in for tonight. I cannot stand the feeling of being out in the open, and definitely not if I'm going to be sleeping."
Starlight nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I'd never get any sleep."
In the past few hours, Starlight had actually been quite talkative. She had broken out of whatever shell she was in before, which was nice. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love talking with Twilight, but the dialogue between us seemed awkward with a third member that wasn't willing to speak. Now, it was way less awkward.
"Alright." Twilight said, shifting her direction towards the cave, which both Starlight and I did the same. We approached the cave cautiously, which moments later Twilight shot some sort of beam into the cave that illuminated it. It was shallow as I predicted, and there was nothing in it.
Twilight and Starlight immediately took refuge in the deepest part of the cave. When they noticed that I wasn't coming with, they gave me odd looks. I shook their thoughts away with a dismissive hand. "Don't worry. I'll be keeping watch for a little bit before I go to sleep as well, don't worry about me. Besides, I want to go see something outside for a bit."
"Al..right..?" Twilight said, a hint of suspicion in her voice. I simply gave her a cheeky smile before disappearing outside.
Once I thought I was far away enough from the cave, I began to talk outloud. "Alright, where are you?"
"Oh, me?" The red-outlined me said, appearing out of thin air itself. It gave me a smile. "Wow, what do I owe the occasion? You seem to not want to talk to me at all, so why now?"
"As long as you don't bother me in front of the others again, I won't have a problem. It's hard to talk to someone when you have two others that cant see who you're talking to. They'd think I'm fucking insane."
"Are you?"
"Don't you fucking.. ugh." I groaned, kicking a rock in the dirt angrily.
"Alright alright, I'll let off. What's up?" It asked casually, lifting its feet up into a criss-cross sitting position while floating in the air idly in front of me. I knew questioning it would do absolutely nothing, so I shook my head and went to continue what I came for.
"Look, I need to know something."
"Oh? I can't tell you everything, but we'll see."
I sighed. "Is there a good.. I don't know, ending for those two?"
It stared at me. "I can't tell you if there is a good ending for you, Re-"
"Not me. Them." I said, pointing at the cave. "I don't care what happens to me. Lord know's i'm probably going to die. I don't have much time left without those pills, and the only thing I want to know is if they'll be okay. If I die, I won't ever get to see it. I just want to know if they will be okay after I go."
It smirked at me. "That's quite selfless of you. You do care about them deeply, don't you?"
There would've been a day that I would say no. "I do."
"Well, Rex. I can't tell you anything right now, but you know what I can promise?"
"What?"
It got up close to me. "When you are on your deathbed, I will reveal everything to you. But I can't do so a moment earlier than that. It's all in the name of cosmic intervention, I assure you. Not because I don't like you. I mean, I am you, so why would I not like you?"
"I don't like myself."
"And why is that?" It asked, floating a bit away to give me room. "I can feel the hate you feel for yourself. Why? I don't think you've given ample reason for such a thing."
"You know what I did, you claim to be there. I murdered my father, I made my own mother disown me, I hurt a lot of people on the Rim, and I couldn't save some others. There's your summary."
It got back onto its feet. "The day you murdered your father was the day you sent a demon back to hell, with a sting from a holy light. I know you don't, but I loved that day. I loved it so very much, in fact, that I felt the need to scream from your own body. You protected your family when you did that, despite what your mother did. You were forced into situations where you needed to kill, and forced into others where you couldn't save them. Such as, the trader that you found, with that one Luciferium pill, hm?"
I looked away from it.
"He told you of the dangers before he passed. Do you blame yourself for something like that? Tell me this, Rex, if you weren't here, would you be able to help Twilight and Starlight?"
"Well, no, but someone else coul-"
"No." It said sternly. "No one else could've. In fact, I think that might be the reason why you survived. You were meant to be here. What that entails, I do not know. But if you weren't here, the both of them would've ended up on this Rim without anyone. They would've died, been eaten, or even raped. Worse than what happened at Tarbo's place, and you know it. So don't give me none of that bullshit no more."
I folded my arms. "And you just know that, huh?"
It nodded. "I do."
"How?"
"I've seen it."
I paused. "What do you mean, seen it?"
"Exactly what I said. I've seen it already happen. This is a special occasion. I prefer this."
I wanted to question, but I didn't. I knew that it would possibly result in me learning about something that I didn't want to know to begin with. If it's seen it, then I will simply believe it. I really can't prove it wrong, can I? "Well.. Alright. Just, go away now, I need to get to sleep."
"Alright, but you've got a visitor." It said, pointing a finger behind me before disappearing. I turned around, only to be met with purple eyes.
Paralyzation spells are tricky. Once cast on a pony, they will essentially turn into an inanimate object. All magical capabilities are cut off mostly, and all movement is completely restricted. Getting out of said spell is tricky for unicorns and alicorns, and impossible for earth and pegasus ponies.
Luckily, I know the way.
"The fuck are we supposed to do with her?" One of the strange creatures asked as the four of them sat on the floor inside the house. I was put into the corner, forced to watch them do whatever it is they wanted. They were quite boring.
"Dunno. Tar took me aside for a bit though."
"Really? You didn't bother telling us this a couple of hours ago? What'd he say?"
The creature shrugged. "It was odd. The big ass white horse? He said he has a 'plan' with her, but in order for it to work, this blue one needs to stay alive. That's why we're here, and not over there. We're essentially body guards."
"Body guards, for a horse."
"Dude, don't question Tar." Another chimed in. "You know how he gets. It's better to follow orders. That's how you survive under his rule, and frankly, it's better that way. He know's what he's doing. If he didn't, we would all be dead, wouldn't we?"
"I don't know. That weird fuck, JO-11? The right hand man? He's questionable lately. According to the doctors, after those three escaped, he was still conscious, and could walk just fine. His armor took the brunt of the force, which meant he could've chased after them. He didn't though. If Tar was smart, he'd put a bullet between that dudes eyes."
A creature stood up before walking over to me, eyeing me suspiciously. "I guess. Hey- you know what the craziest part about all of this is?"
"Hm?"
"Why am I not questioning the existence of giant magical horses? Like, isn't that the weirdest thing you've ever heard?"
One shrugged. "You've heard stories about the Anima tree, right? They say magic already exists. I mean, Tar himself basically wields magic."
"Psychic amplifiers are different. They're... tech, not magic."
"Tech is magic to the unknown eye."
The creature in front of me shrugged. "Suppose so."
I already hated them. They were laughably stupid, talking about such information right in front of me. I stared straight ahead at the creature in front of me, still not being able to move. However, I was channeling my magic internally, a skill that most mages learn early on. Creating a pool that you can expend from instantly. It's used to break against magical bindings. Or, in this case..
Paralyzation spells.
"I don't really like how things are turning out here. First, we get three prisoners, and Tar wants to recruit them. Well, two of them. Then, all of a sudden, they escape, and we're out here and meet even more horses, and two gigantic ones. And, one betrays the other?"
"She said she only paralyzed her for a bit, and it's not permanent."
"That seems like betrayal to me. I don't like where this is going. Getting into a conflict we know nothing about always leads to people getting killed. People, like us, that are forced onto the frontlines."
The creature talking was hit on the shoulder by another. "Quit your fucking whining. We signed up for this, remember? We knew the possibility of death was real."
"I know that. I just don't think that because I signed a fucking paper means that I should be forced to march to my death."
The creature in front of me brought his hand in front of my face, lightly tapping my nose and moving parts of my hair, clearly intrigued. I felt myself being degraded by the second, having a filthy creature touch me. His hands were covered in dirt, each poke leaving a little round circle of it on me.
"That's some pretty cool armor."
"Armor? It literally only covers her fucking legs and a little bit of her body. What kind of fuckin' armor is that?"
Imbecile. It uses magi-
"Dunno." He poked my armor, leaving a little dirt stain. "Pretty nice though, isn't it? Yo, do you think Tar would get mad if we took it off her? Imagine if we split this shit and sell it in the square. Nice metal like this would sell quick. He only said to protect her and keep her alive, right?"
Two others nodded.
"Alright, let's take the leg pieces off first." He said, reaching his hand down to my legs.
That's it.
I forced all of the magical energy that was contained inside of me through my horn at once, which caused a light that blinded even myself. In an instant, I was able to move once again. I huffed loudly in excitement. Finally, I could do something about these filthy creatures!
Once my eye's recovered, I targeted the four poor filthy souls in the room.
"HOLY SHI-" I forced a sleeping spell onto the four creatures, watching them as they all fall to the floor. They were only powerful when they were targeting a soul that had no chance to fight back. How funny it is, watching them fail when they're faced up against somepony that is above their level. So easily, they break.
"Disgusting." I muttered, eyeing the four creatures laying on the floor. I was thinking on what to do. Now would be the time to escape, but what about them? Leaving them here would simply cause them to follow my prints, following me until they are close enough to attack. I had to do something with them.
If I tied them up, they would either get out eventually, or starve to death. So, the only option was one that my Sister would most likely cringe at the mere mention of it. Though, unlike her, I've spent a lot of my younger years doing what a 'princess shouldn't be doing.' Combat training was forced onto me, and I am to not use it?
And she is a hypocrite. Willing to kill when it comes to it, or when she is blinded by emotion. Yet she pretends she is better than anypony else. Lately, its only gotten worse. She ignores me, she tells others that I am not social enough, that I am sad, and pathetic. What a sister she is. I'd be better off if I was in an orphanage when I was born. Perhaps I wouldn't have been sent to the bucking moon.
I charged my horn with a lethal spell, aiming down at one of the creatures.
"Sleep deep."
"Aheh.. Uh, hi, Twilight."
"Who were you talking to?"
"Nobod-"
"Don't lie to me."
I looked down, obviously embarrassed by the situation. In her eyes, I was talking to the fucking wind. And, how do I explain that I see things that they don't? Anyone would chalk it up to me simply having my brain under technical shock from the electricity. Either that, or they'd declare lunacy.
I sighed. "You won't laugh at me, would you?"
A smile creeped along her face, until she realized I was quite nervous. She put on a serious face, before shaking her head slowly. "No, Rex, of course I won't."
I looked over to the left of me, letting my eye scan endlessly over the empty area, trying to think of how I should word it. Once I figured out I had no idea, I simply decided to go without a plan. I looked back at her, straight in the eyes, and sighed again. "I see things."
She tilted her head in question. "What?"
"There's been a person that I've been seeing ever since the whole.. head trauma thing. I chalked it up to my brain having trouble, but I don't think that's it anymore. He looks like me, he has the same voice, and you both can't see him. But he know's things that I don't. D-Do you remember yesterday, when you popped your head in?"
"Yeah?"
"He told me to 'watch.' Within seconds of snapping his fingers-" I imitated. "-you showed up."
She eye'd me to see if I was telling the truth. "Rex, are you su-"
"Yes I'm fucking sure! I'm not crazy, I am not crazy. Just now, he told me you were behind me! T-That's why I turned around-"
"Are you sure it's not because you heard me? I wasn't really being quiet coming up on you."
"No it's not because you weren't quiet! I had no idea you were there! I-It's.. fuck, I.. I don't know how to say it!"
Twilight's POV
"Rex, you went under a lot of technical stress when he sent that electricity through you. It could've be-"
"I already fucking told you, it's not! It.. It's not.." I could see his face become more and more saddened with each word. "I-I'm not going insane. I know what I saw, and what I am seeing. J-Just because I went through that, doesn't mean I'm hallucinating or whatever!"
I wanted to believe him, I really did.
But this happens to ponies all the time when they go through brain injuries.
There is a phenomenon in Equestria among soldiers. We don't have a name for it, but it's when a Soldier's consciousness merges into a hallucination. Their hallucination would tell them that somebody is coming, and they'd claim that their hallucination told them. However, the footsteps were clearly audible, but instead of the individual hearing it, the consciousness tells them. It's tricky, and doesn't have a treatment. They usually are told to see a therapist who essentially plays along.
It's sad, and now it's happening to Rex.
This isn't something I could play along with though. We were in a dire situation, and doing so would only cement our doom. I needed him to understand that he needs to try to ignore that hallucination, that he needs to think by himself. We're counting on it. "That's your consciousness, Rex. You need to-"
"Stop fucking telling me that! It's not, It's fucking not! I would know!"
"Rex, calm down-"
"Don't fucking tell me to calm down! You don't understand, you don't have a thing running around that nobody else can see! You fu-"
"Re-"
"STOP!"
Multiple colors flashed through his eyes, and his voice was unnatural. I took a step back instinctively, staring at him. My previous theory was now.. well, incorrect. Whatever it was that just happened proved that. The color in his eyes, the unnatural voice.
Was he being possessed?
I opened my mouth to say something before he walked past me. "Don't fucking say anything. I'm just insane, aren't I? Argue with me in the fucking morning."
Tarbo's POV
Tricking her was easy.
When you don't have the ability to fact-check anything, you lose the ability to tell what is true and what is not. The only thing that matters then, is intention, that can be easily faked. Getting her to paralyze her sister though? That wasn't my intention in the slightest.
The blue one was more argumentative, able to see past things. She will prove useful, as she can stand her ground.
However, the white one, Celestia, is less useful. Once she is done helping, putting her down will be easy. She will believe I've saved her 'prized student' as she tells me, and that she can trust me. I can not have someone on my side that is so easily swayed by either emotion or something else that lingers inside. She is only useful at the moment.
The blue one, Luna, will be the one I will use.
We have been following a trail for awhile now. She said she can sense magical essence, essentially a radar. According to her, it's been used in her world to track down unicorn thieves. I don't really much care how it's done, all I care is that it is done. She also said she could fly, but that would lead her to be alone from my company, and so far, she likes it.
Isn't it funny how the person you trust can be the one willing to murder you? No, not murder.. Mercy.
As long as I can get my hands on dear Twilight and Starlight, and strangle Rex myself, I'll be happy. And, if I can't strangle him myself, perhaps seeing a hole in his chest from a magical blast, and watching him bleed out, will have to do. Not optimal, but still finishes the job.
Though, I have a feeling that Rex will be more of a pain than before. Why do I think this?
Everything was an endless sea of white, and I stood alone. I spoke, and my voice would echo off of imaginary walls. I was completely alone, in an empty void. For some reason, I find myself thinking that I would be more calm if it were an empty black space, than an empty white one. Something about emptiness with the lightest color triggers uneasiness inside of myself.
"Interesting, isn't it?"
I turned around to see myself.
"It seems I can only project an outline of myself when you're conscious. Here? You can see me. Or, you."
"Shut up. Please." I groaned, taking a seat on the floor. It mimicked me, sitting as well, only a couple feet away. It shook it's head, looking all around the empty space.
"You're oddly-"
"Shut the fuck up! Please, just leave me alone! I don't know what you are, I don't know why you're bothering me, but I don't want you anywhere around me! You're making me feel fucking crazy. My life is already shit, and with you added on top of it all, I can clearly say that i'm insane."
It sat in silence, simply watching me as I continued to talk.
"My life has always felt shitty. The situation with my father, the situation with the ship and now here. It's all happened so fast- and despite all of that, my life is still boring. What did I do with my life except become a bartender? I tried to get with a friend that I liked, and it always led nowhere. I didn't have many friends outside of work, and I was constantly alone. I get here, and what am I forced to do? Kill, kill, kill."
I began to tear up.
"I hate being here. I hate being alive. What the fuck have I given? I've taken, that's it! I've taken my fathers life, and countless others on this shit planet. I try to tell myself it's because I had to, I try to tell myself that it's because they're worse than me, but even if that's true, I hate it. I'm not stable, I'm not okay."
"And even if it was for the better, for the others to die, then why was I tortured? Why were the only two friends I have tortured? Why did I lose my eye, why did Twilight get slashed across the face, why did Starlight get raped, why did that little girl have to watch her father die?"
I sat in silence, as did the other me. I was shaking by now, and tears were flowing.
"If all living is, is seeing others get hurt and tortured, then I don't want to live. I don't even care about myself anymore- it's just the fact that everyone else is being hurt around me. And, most of the time I'm powerless. I'd love to believe I was capable of stopping Tarbo. I'd love to believe I would be able to be strong enough to flip both Tarbo and his little slave off and say 'fuck you' to their faces all day, and take the punishment because 'im stronger'.."
"But I'm not. I'm weak, I'm boring, and I don't have much to give to the world. I'm an ordinary man, caught in a scenario meant for extraordinary people. The universe chose wrong."
It stared at me, it's face neutral, before giving a sigh. "You have to live, Rex."
"Why?"
"For them. For Twilight. For Starlight. You have to get them home."
"They'd do better without me."
"Not true."
I stood up. "And what, I'm supposed to believe that? That you're god?! That you're fucking jesus christ?! How the fuck can god even exist if shit like this is happening on a shitty planet?! Is this hell?"
"I'm not god. Far from it."
"Then WHAT ARE YOU?!"
It took a couple steps toward me, before pointing a finger at my chest and poking it.
I scavenged the entire house that I was held hostage in until night fell. It seems that this world has a cycle without the need of interference, unlike our world. It was quite confusing at first, but I find myself a little jealous. If I didn't have to use my magic every night to put the moon up, and back down, I'd sometimes be in much better moods.
Everything I've found proved Celestia wrong.
It seems that dear Twilight and Starlight are friends with this 'Rex.' They talk quite fond of him in multiple letters, letters that I suspect were kept secret from Rex. It seems that they wrote their daily experiences in it, and it seems that time has moved much slower here than in our own world. Months of daily letters are stacked up. I could only imagine what they've had to go through.
I must go find them before Celestia and her new friend get there. She'll blast him without second thought.
Celestia wasn't one to be manipulated easily. Yet with how things have been going the past few days, she's shown an inability to hold her emotions. My own emotions have gotten in the way, I must admit, but I have tried to fix that. Something is wrong, and I can feel it. Yet, I don't know who to blame. Celestia is no longer the sister I once knew.
Taking a step outside the house, I could feel the cold wind press against my coat. It was odd, unlike anything that I've felt in Equestria. It almost felt... dead. It was refreshing, but the environment and the feel of it all felt depressing. I don't quite know how to explain it. The air feels impure, the opposite of what I'm used to.
The moon in the sky was bright, and was shaped differently than the one I had gotten accustomed to. It was rigid, with holes all over it, much bigger than the ones on our moon. It was also considerably larger, with what seemed to be floating rubble surrounding it.
I've definitely found myself in a place of mystery.
I spread my wings out, before flapping them and sending myself into the air. It was harder to control though, with the unfiltered wind. It felt as if the world was pushing against me, not gliding with me. Were all other worlds like this one? Is Equestria just... lucky?
I didn't have time to find out. With a flap of my wings, I sent myself in the same direction Celestia went.
Waking up wasn't nice. In fact, it felt more like I had been hit with a baseball bat right to my forehead. I groaned as I sat up, my vision flashing with bright pulsing light. I definitely had a headache, but I didn't really know why. Once I felt like I wasn't going to puke at every turn of my head, I scanned the cave.
Twilight and Starlight were already up, sitting together at the edge of the cave. They seemed to be talking.
I'm glad they're talking.
I'm not glad that Twilight think's i'm insane now. I can understand her questioning, but that doesn't make me feel any better. I hate being treated like a victim, or treated like there's something wrong with me. I'm just like everyone else, aren't I? I.. would like to think so. Of course, I don't have all the answers.
I got up shakily, steadying myself on the wall of the cave.
I slowly made my way to them, to which their ears perked up to the sound of my footsteps, and they turned. They both smiled at me, but it seemed strained. They didn't seem happy, they seemed concerned. And, I couldn't fault them. I'm concerned about myself. I took a seat next to Twilight, sitting with my legs crossed.
"How are you feeling?" Starlight asked.
I glanced over at her for a second. "My head hurts, and my body aches. I feel like I'm dying.."
Oh, wait... I am dying. I keep forgetting that piece of information. I suppose that information hasn't sunk in yet. I mean, how is someone going to tell you that you have a week to live, and you're just supposed to accept it? Even if the smartest man told me that, I'd still question it. It's just... so hard to believe.
"I've got bad news then.. We've got to keep moving forward." Twilight said with a sigh, shaking her head. "I wish we could stop and rest for longer, but-"
"But-" I cut her off. "-we're on the run. From a very dangerous man, with very dangerous people. I'm not going to be the downfall of you two. If I've got to feel like death for a couple of days because we're staying away from trouble, then fuck it, I'll do it. Just... bear with me, okay?" I asked with a shaky voice. I was a little afraid, actually.
"We aren't going to leave you behind, if that's what you're worried about." Twilight said, placing a hoof on my shoulder.
"It might be better if you did that. I'm obviously not feeling well. And, that's the opposite effect of taking Luciferium. Which means something is majorly wrong with me... and I'd rather not have my problems weigh on you both."
"Rex, this-"
"Stop." I said, putting my hand in her face. "This is survival. Sometimes you have to do things you don't agree with in order to stay alive. And your priority is yourself. You've got something to live for, don't you? Friends to go home to, family to see again, and a school to run, right? Make sure you see to it that you get to do all that."
Twilight gave a frown, along with Starlight. Yet, the both of them ultimately stared forward and said nothing. It seems they've finally accepted it. That I'm pretty much a lost cause. They've got to keep going, even in my passing. They'll survive, I'm sure of it. The silence was peaceful almost, until-
"I don't think you're crazy..."
I looked at Twilight.
"I-I.. I know I questioned you at first. B-But I just didn't know what to say. You've been through a lot and-and the only explanation that I had for it was PTSD. Or, something similar to it.. I'm sorry. I want to know more of what's going on. I want to help. Will you.. tell me?"
Well, I wasn't expecting this. "About the thing in my head?"
She nodded.
I sighed, staring forward. "It's an outline of myself, with my own voice. It talks to me, and tells me things that I wouldn't normally know. It claims to know the future events, and past events, and what happened to some of my.. friends. It may have my voice, but it doesn't really act like me in the slightest. It can project itself at any given moment, and just... start talking."
Twilight kept silent.
"It claims that when Tarbo electrified me, that it 'woke me up.' I denied that it was real, and tried to go about my day but it obviously had other plans. Last night, I went to go talk to it, and that's what you heard."
Twilight nodded, before placing a hoof onto my knee. "There was something I saw."
"What?"
"When you got angry, your eye.. Flashed. Multicolored. I've never seen anything like it."
"Really?"
She nodded. "I don't know what it means.. Or if it means anything at all, but it is definitely not normal."
I shrugged. "Nothing is normal anymore, so I'm not exactly surprised." I said, getting up with a groan, steadying myself against the cave wall once again as I went to pick up my stuff. Once I had everything I needed, I went back out to the entrance and leaned against the wall once again.
"We've got limited time.." I said. "A couple more days. Then, I'm out."
"Don't talk like that, please." Twilight said, standing up and shaking her head. "I'd rather not think about it.."
"Same here." Starlight said, staring off into the distance. With everyone fully up, we were ready to head out.
Tarbo's POV
Delicate.
That's what Celestia is. Delicate, like a flower. She tries to be intimidating, to be large and royal-like, but deep down she is as delicate as any flower on this planet. Her world, as she has told me time and time again, is 'much nicer' than this one here. It's as if she's tempting me to come with her. Perhaps that'd be an avenue that would be worthy travelling.
To say that I've lied my way to get her trust is an understatement. I've made so many allegations towards dear Rex that he's practically the worst human alive on this planet. That dear Twilight and Starlight both have a case of Stockholm syndrome, and to not believe their views. That Rex is gas-lighting them into compliance. No matter what her dear student and friend say, she'll trust my word.
It's quite hilarious, in all honesty.
Though I'd rather hurry this up. With Rex, Twilight and Starlight on the run, it's forcing me to focus on them instead of the Empire. It's giving them time to prepare for whatever I plan to do, and that's going to turn the tide very easily in their favor. However, once I get them, it'll be over.
Perhaps I should keep Celestia around. She's shown to be gullible, more so than any other creature on this planet. I could convince her to make herself free of charge to the guards, and I'm sure with enough explanation she'd give in, to say that it's for the better good. Or...
I could convince her to open that portal of hers, permanently.
Wouldn't that be a treat, hm? A portal to another world. One that I could make into my own personal plaything. A true, royal empire, underneath my control. If their noble leader here will believe in anything that I say, her people would be the same, surely. I know it to be true.
"Dear Celestia-" I asked.
"Yes?" She responded, turning her head to look at me. We were currently in a convoy, so there was no need for walking. Which meant spare time was spent simply talking or asking questions. Simple enough, really.
"Just what are you planning to do once we meet your student and friend? Rex surely won't be someone to go down with ease. He's just as cunning, if not more, than some of the worst villains this universe has ever seen. What will you do?"
"I've said before that I will take care of him immediately upon contact. Everypony deserves a second chance, but not when you do something as heinous as what he's done."
I nodded, simply going along with her words. "Perhaps, after this is all over, we could perhaps establish a friendship."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, aren't we friends?"
"I... Yes, we are."
"Then-" I continued. "-perhaps you could keep a portal open. I'd love to travel to another world, and to see the beauties you talk about. Or perhaps I'd even like to make a permanent home there. As you could imagine, this world isn't exactly friendly. I'd much rather spend the rest of my days in a world that is."
She seemed to stare off into space as she considered it. "That'd be a big diplomatic matter, Tar. There'd be no way to present that to the court under the matters of friendship-"
"Perhaps trade."
"What?"
"Trade." I repeated. "We have valuable resources here, resources that your own world doesn't have, as you've already seen. Plenty of valuable technology and other things that could benefit your world. Perhaps if we could keep a portal open for trade reasons, that'd be much easier to present to the court. All I want in return, is to be able to live there myself, or atleast visit. Wouldn't that be enough to sate the court?"
On the Rim, you could never tell if someone was being friendly, or secretly wanted to skin you alive when you slept. You just had to trust them, I guess, but such a thing hardly existed on this planet. You didn't want to get back-stabbed, so you end up back-stabbings others out of paranoia. It's a vicious cycle, taking even the most trusting of individuals and turning them into paranoid freaks.
I suppose I'm one of those freaks.
The only reason why me and some people that passed by got along really well is because of two or so years of trust building up. And, even then, I still had my doubts. With the incident back at Tarbo's place, I don't really know if I'm able to trust anyone on this planet. Twilight and Starlight are great companions, but they aren't from here. That fact alone secured their trust in my heart.
Speaking of Civilization, we could see what looked like to be a town off in the distance. Well, a tribal camp, from the looks of it. Shacks, tents, and wooden walls. Not an advanced society in the slightest, which usually spelled trouble. Tribal's were known to be desperate and savage, willing to do anything they needed to do to get even the slightest advantage in life. Even if that meant eating the meat off your bones. However, they could possibly have what we needed. And, if not, then atleast could offer supplies if willing to trade.
"Let's go check it out. We've all got weapons, and they likely only have bows and spears. That's not to say they're not dangerous, but we've got the superior tech advantage. If you don't know what to say, say nothing, and let me do the talking. Don't want to piss of tribals, believe me. They keep grudges." I said, pointing in the direction of the camp. Twilight walked on my left, while Starlight walked on my left.
And, just as we noticed the people at the camp, they noticed us as well.
Children were present. I could see them poking their head from the side of the wooden barriers that were set up. A couple of the adults were holding spears, another holding a bow. They were definitely in tribal wear, wearing only loin-cloths and other such things. They picked a decent area to set up camp, as on the left and right were mountains, with what seemed to be little towers on top. Outlook towers, for sure.
I raised both of my hands up as we slowly approached the tribals.
A woman stood in front of the men with spears and bows, staring the three of us down. She lifted her chin up slightly, before opening her mouth to speak, before closing it, eyeing the multi-colored ponies that were with me. I looked at them as she did, before looking back up at her. I then made a split-second decision, something that might either help us, or harm us.
"The Anima sent them."
That seemed to shock the woman and the men in the back, as almost all of them took a step back. Well, I guess it was the wrong call, wasn't it? Hopefully I can reach for my revolver in time before they can get an arrow off-
The woman got onto her knee's, as did the men, and they placed their hands out in front of them and bowed. They were silent for a little while. Twilight, Starlight and I just stared at them awkwardly, a little unsure of what to do. Before long, the woman lifted her head up and stood up, along with the others. "We had been praying to the Anima for days on end for help, and it seems it has finally answered! Please, come- come." The woman ushered, motioning her hand for us to follow.
The three of us awkwardly followed her into the camp, which seemed bigger now that we were inside it. Those wooden walls really did obscure a lot of it. Children played around, adults worked doing various things, but once we were in there for longer than a couple of seconds most of them stopped to look at us.
We were brought into the middle of the camp, where the woman began to usher people to come. Within a minute, Twilight, Starlight and myself were all surrounded by a circle of people, the woman standing in front of us still. She gave us a wild smile, as did the rest of the tribe.
"People, the Anima has blessed us with help, and these three are it. Please, tell us your names."
"Ahehm.. Uh, this is Twilight-" I said, pointing to Twilight who nodded with as confident of a look as she could pull off. "-this is Starlight-" I said, pointing to Starlight, who seemed to be scanning the crowd. "-and I'm Rex." I finished, raising my hand, before letting it down.
"Twilight, Starlight, Rex- you must be Sun Disciples! Their names- my people, their names. Starlight, the gleaming brightness of a distant star, just like our sun, but so off into the distance that it's become well-known with it's black sky. Twilight, the time of beauty in the world, where all is equal and tranquil. And Rex-" She said, pointing to me. "A worthy name for someone who guards the Anima's precious specimens."
Wow... She got all of that just from our names? She got more meaning out of that then I did my entire education somehow, and I'm quite impressed. She was well versed in words, that was for sure. It made sense why she was the leader, or at-least the spokesperson for the tribe.
"What is it you need help with?" I asked out of general curiosity. Though, if they were praying to a god, it likely wouldn't be anything we could control. All we needed to do was play along, right? I suppose it's my fault for getting us into this mess. This just made me more and more nervous.
"My people are falling sick."
I looked around. "There seems to be plenty here, and they don't seem sick."
"Come- come." The woman ushered once more, guiding the three of us into a far-off tent in the camp. It was large, and coughing was constant once we got into earshot. She opened the front of the flap for us to enter, and once we were inside, we could see what she was talking about. The tent was filled to the brim with easily fifty or so people, blood coating the floor of the tent. People were coughing it up, and open and infected wounds were present all over their bodies.
They definitely caught something bad.
I guided Twilight and Starlight out of the tent hurriedly after seeing the people. I wasn't sure if they were contagious, and if they were I didn't want to get sick with whatever they had. If I'm going to die, it's going to be by the damn Luciferium. Not some plague from hell. Though, in your final days, I suppose they're one in the same.
"Is there... anything you can do?"
"Yes." Twilight spoke. I turned to her in surprise, but she didn't look back at me. "I might be able to help, but I'm not sure if it'll be able to help completely. If anything, it'll just ease their pains, or clear up some wounds. I can't promise anything."
"Who am I to judge what a Sun Disciple can or cannot do? Anything will help. We are in your debt." The woman said, about to get onto her knee's once more, before Twilight spoke up once again.
"If you are in our debt, we're looking for something."
I looked at Twilight confused, but she continued. "We're looking for a pill called Luciferium. It's red, can be taken in solid or powder form. If you had any, I'd certainly be more than willing to help you get your people back into shape. Each Disciple needs a bit of a nudge, after all."
Twilight was certainly playing into this thing, and definitely for my sake. The only problem was that Luciferium was a high-tech drug. Only the most advanced civilizations usually had it, and had the means to produce it. The likeliness of a tribe having it was almost zero-
"We have some, but not much. Let me show you-"
"Great. Starlight, Rex, stay here."
What in the... Okay, first, the tribe actually has the pills. Or, thinks they do. That means a couple of more weeks added to my lifespan! That was fantastic news. Oh, and second, Twilight just ordered me and Starlight what to do. Things are getting weirder day by day.
"They sure are!" I heard it say as the spirit thing inside of my head manifested in front of me.
Fuck me..
Tarbo's POV
"Controlling the weather, hm? That sounds magnificent. If we were able to do such a thing in this world, we wouldn't have the trouble of having to worry about droughts, or worry about severe deadly winters. If you control the weather, who says that you can't just force it to rain on the crops and keep it moderately warm out all day?"
Celestia shook her head with a smile. "We follow a strict guideline on weather control. It's mandatory for us to manage it well and with diverse conditions, or else things don't end up going over well. I won't bore you with the details of how magic works based on weather condition, but I'll give you a quick summary. Magic in our world is so prevalent that it is in the very air that we breathe. With that in mind, we have to control the weather based on magic stimulation. Though, I don't believe we've ever had 'deadly winters' as you say."
"Well-" I said, shrugging. "-it's only deadly if you don't have the right equipment. My empire is mostly safe against the heat and cold, but the same can't be said for all the tribles in the land. Most of them die within a couple of weeks into winter, which proves to be quite a depressing sight to stumble across on patrols."
Celestia nodded. "I could imagine so."
"Sir!" A guard yelled from the front of the truck. He was holding a strange phone-like device in his hand. "We just found a clue to where they went. Guards patrolling up ahead have just picked up hoof-like prints and shoe-prints in the dirt. No other prints have even come close to matching those."
"How recent?" I asked.
"Really recent. The others estimate that if they're walking at average pace, we'll meet up with them in only five or so hours. Even at a sprinting pace, we'd be there within nine."
I smiled towards Celestia. "We're almost there. This is good news, for both you and I. I don't like seeing such a benevolent and beautiful princess such as yourself looking so tragically sad. Even if you hide it, I can still tell. You and I are quite alike."
Celestia simply smiled. "You're quite the charmer, Mr. Tar. I'm quite happy with the news, though a pit has formed in my stomach."
"Why, Princess?"
Celestia sighed, now looking out of the bed of the truck they were in. "Seeing my student and her friend will definitely boost my mood, but I might not like what the result of this harsh world on them is. They could be maimed forever. They already are scarred emotionally for sure, from such a terrible man such as that Rex. I'm nervous of him, as well."
I nodded to her, looking over at one of my guards. "What's the standard procedure for meeting Rex, soldier?"
"Standard Protocol for E-Convict Rex is shoot to kill. Stalled time will result in a soldiers punishment."
I then looked to Celestia. "Do you see, Celestia? All of my men are trained to remove the threat as soon as possible. I understand that you are powerful yourself, but having the extra manpower would certainly help. Especially with your own guards-" I said, looking at the truck behind us, which carried some of them. "-he's no match for us."
"Going so far to help me, I can't help but feel a little disappointed I can't prove to be just as useful to you, Mr. Tar."
"You are certainly useful, Princess. You've provided me with fantastic conversation~" I said with a smile.
It took atleast twenty minutes for Twilight to come back.
She was wearing a big, happy smile on her face as she approached me and Starlight. Both Starlight and I were sort of backing off against the rest of the tribe. They were very hands on, and were poking at places they shouldn't be poking at. Though eventually, they had all backed off. I gave Twilight a questioning look.
Starlight tilted her head. "So?"
"Good news. Rex won't be dying anytime soon."
Honestly, I wasn't as happy as I felt like I should've been. I just gave a smile. "How much is there? You guys were gone for quite a bit."
"She was showing me all the things in their storage. Plus, they didn't put all the pills together, so we had to search for them. Let's say there's atleast forty or so pills that we've found, and definitely more hiding. That's well over a year of supply!"
I nodded. "And what's the price? You said you were going to heal all those folk inside there. How? I mean, I know that you have your magic back, but if you can heal them, how come you couldn't heal me?" I asked, a little curious. If there was a possible way to get the Luciferium out of my body, that'd be excellent. I wouldn't have to worry about going to sleep and never waking up again.
"Well, from the scan I did on you when you were asleep, it's fused with your body. The only way I could get that out is if I had the right training, and I'm not a medical expert in the slightest. A scientist, sure, but I couldn't trust myself with handling something as important as that. If I were to try anything, it'd either kill you, or hurt you badly."
I sighed. "Well, it was worth asking."
Starlight looked to the tent with the injured folks inside. "How long will it take you to heal them up? Me and Rex here have been... well, pushing back the people. They're interested in us, and apparently don't know what the word no means."
Twilight shrugged. "I don't know. I can't do anything medical that's crazy, but I can do something. If anything, I'll put them in a sleep-state and let it heal on its own. I could've done the same thing for Rex, but... we need him awake."
"Why?" I asked.
"You're our guide in this world. You might know the surrounding lands, but you've been here longer than me or Starlight. Plus, I know you wouldn't like to be asleep for weeks on end and have something bad happen to you." Twilight said, to which I nodded. She was right. I could never agree to something like that. I'd rather be awake and able to defend myself than to be asleep and just... die.
Though, I guess that's what the luciferium does, huh?
"Have we provided enough of an offering, Disciples?" The three of us turned to the voice, only to see the lady from before. She was clasping her hands together, as if it was helping turn the tide into her favor. "I-I can see if we have anything more to offer, perhaps food or-"
"What you've promised to provide is enough," Twilight spoke. "I will see what I can do for your people. I can't promise they'll get better, but I can promise that I'll try. That's all I can do."
"Thank you- thank you!" The woman said, now getting onto her knee's before placing her hands on the floor, palm down. She was worshiping us like gods. Though, I suppose that's what we posed as, huh? You know, I don't think I'd ever like being a king.
I couldn't handle being fawned over.
Tarbo's POV
We've stopped about three hours away from our enemies. We've used this small break to gather Intel and form a good plan before going in. Sure, Rex isn't much of a threat as he's a simple human. But Twilight and her friend will be quite difficult to deal with. The battle will be a struggle, that's for sure.
The problem is how to convince Celestia in the heat of battle. Twilight and Starlight will be fighting back along with Rex, which will no doubt cause confusion in her mind. However, planting seeds of Complacency, and Stockholm Syndrome will be enough to tide her over hopefully.
Celestia was with her own guards, discussing with them, while I was with mine.
"Sir? What do we do?"
I looked at the highest ranking guards of the convoy, giving them all a smile. "When we get there, we need to make sure a two things happen. One, we need to injure Rex. Disregard previous orders to kill him. He is to stay alive, for Celestia's sake. She will decide what to do with him. Two, we need to only injure Twilight and Starlight. Go for the legs specifically, nothing vital, so that means below the cap."
JO-11 tapped me on my shoulder before pointing to a black case. I nodded to him before he disappeared into the convoy truck. I placed my hands on top of the case, rubbing them gently over the top. This was what was going to guarantee that I win. Under all circumstances, this is the thing that will tide it over.
I un-clipped the locks on the case, letting it open. Inside, was a small pistol with a sort of dark-purple glowing barrel. It looked ordinary, except for the purple glow, and looked quite minimal. Yet, this small little weapon is the strongest weapon I've personally made. Combining the power of Psychic Amplifiers into a weapon, I now have this.
Capable of shooting hundreds of energy projectiles, and able to shoot a beam that could manipulate objects, it is essentially a jack of all trades. Unstoppable power is in this case, and I plan to wield it. I pull the pistol out, before clamping the locks shut on the case. I looked at the design of the pistol up close, before turning to Celestia.
"Celestia."
She turned, giving me a warm smile. She was oblivious.
"We are ready."
It had been about two hours since Twilight went into the tent.
We've been told not to go inside, as to not interfere with whatever she was doing. Though, slowly, the coughs and groans became silent, one by one. It was a sign that it was working. Well, hopefully working. Me and Starlight simply sat at the campfire near the center of the camp, which many of the people sat around with us. Either that, or they were working on other stuff. Work doesn't stop, even for self-proclaimed gods.
Eventually, Twilight exited the tent. She looked a little tired. She slowly walked over next to me, and plopped down, resting her head on my leg. I looked down at her. "How was it? I'm hoping it went well." Without saying anything, she nodded. She was definitely tired.
"I'm sure you all are thirsty- I've brought sacred tea and prepped it up for you three. Please- it'd be an insult to not try it." The woman before said, presenting us with three small cups filled with tea. We each took it, though before I tasted mine I sniffed it. It smelled familiar... A light earthy smell, with something else..
"Wait-" I tried to say before Twilight began to down the cup, but it was too late.
She looked at me. "What?"
"This... is psychite tea." I said, slowly watching Twilight's eye's widen. Not in shock or surprise, but because she was now high on psychite. Psychite is a technical energy drug, and used in tea as a way to wake you up. It's not really addictive, but really, any drug isn't good for you.
Except smokeleaf. Smokeleaf is amazing.
"I-I-I'm not... hmm.." Twilight said, staring into the center of the campfire now. "E-E-Energy drink, kind of?" She asked, whipping her head to turn to me. I nodded my head.
"Yeah, sure, an energy drink. It's not particularly harmful, but..." I turned my gaze to the woman. "-it'd be nice to know before hand. You know, being drugged isn't a nice way to reward guests that just helped your people." The woman's face went pale before she dropped onto her knee's and bowed multiple times.
"I'm sorry- i'm sorry!"
"Up!" I demanded. "-and go check on your people. Make sure they are okay."
The woman obeyed without question. You know, having this power to just tell people what to do is quite... addicting? I mean, to tell someone to do something without being questioned about it is strange in itself, but I don't like the feeling entirely. Having power over someone only matters when it's life or death. Other than that, I'd hate running anything.
Yeah, Tar was right. I'm not a king.
Starlight set her cup on the floor. "Yeah- as much as I am thirsty, I'm not a fan of being drugged. Sorry Twi... guess you'll be experiencing this one alone."
"M-M-Mhm? Like the o-o-one time a-at the castle when y-y-you-"
"Okay- okay! It wasn't an insult, Twi. Please, let's not talk about that."
Twilight showed a bright smile, her eye's still wide. I shook my head with a smile of my own. "Please, Twilight, just lay your head back down. You did a lot today. Psychite makes you think that you're less tired, but your body is still tired. Rest. Or else you'll be hating yourself in the future."
"M-Maybe that's for future me to f-find out!" She said with a smile, to which I responded with a stern look. She pouted, shaking her head. "Fine-fine-fine-" She repeated as she laid her head down on my lap once again. She was a little jittery, at times flicking a leg randomly, but she seemed more calm than most who get high.
Jeez.. I'm a bad influence.
Tarbo's POV
"Recon has scouted a camp ten minutes away."
I smiled. "Mhm. That's them."
"Not just them. Tribals as well."
Well, that was certainly a surprise. That would make things a bit harder, but not entirely. They weren't collateral by any means. Disposable, and fertilizer at best. Though, picking targets will be much more difficult now. We'll have to go in and pick them out ourselves.
That means a battle head-on, with unneeded focus on the undesirables.
I turned my head to Celestia, who looked quite serious staring at the floor of the truck. "Dear Celestia, are you ready?" She didn't move her gaze from the floor for a couple of seconds, before bringing them up to me. What stared at me, was a cold, dead gaze. She only said one word.
"Yes."
"Sir! We have a problem!"
I whipped my head to the driver. "What?"
He pointed out the windshield. "Target above- Target above!"
Ah, I wondered when something would go awry. When things go too smoothly, you know that something is bound to ruin your plans. This happened to be such an event, and all I could do was smile at the adversity. After all, I'm a little glad we got a reunion...
Flapping could be heard before something landed roughly beside us. Twilight's head perked up nearly instantly, and stared at the figure that stood next to us. Much, much taller, and bigger than either Twilight or Starlight. Twilight stood up immediately.
"Luna?!"
"You must get to safety- there is no time to explain!"
Starlight shook her head. "How did you get here-"
"SAFETY- NOW-"
The farthest section of the wall that surrounded the camp exploded in a fiery blaze, wooden fragments becoming shrapnel, tearing apart the few tribals that were nearby. I immediately stood, and forced both Starlight and Twilight along with me. This 'Luna' followed us as we ran to the farthest section away from the attack.
Someone found us.
"Dear Rex, we know you're in there. Please, don't make this harder than it has to be." Tarbo's voice played over a loudspeaker, his voice echoing throughout the empty surrounding area. It only made sense that it would be him. It seems we really couldn't outrun him.
"That fucking sicko. He actually found us, and we can't run this time." I said with a groan, pulling my revolver from my holster. I looked at Luna, wanting to question her sudden entrance, but I didn't have time. "How many are there? What did you see?"
"Five mechanized machines with wheels, and another bigger machine with strange looking wheels. My sister is with them."
"Celestia?!" Twilight and Starlight cried at the same time. "Is she hurt?" Twilight asked.
"She's joined forces with this 'Tarbo.'"
"What? B-But-"
"There is no time to explain. She is an enemy as of this moment. She's been manipulated. Rex, you are her prime target."
Oh, of fucking course I am. God, remember when I was just inside my house, doing normal things, cooking the same damn shitty meal over and over, and figuring out how to get farming stuff to work? Remember when I wasn't consumed in constant chaos? It feels like it's been ages.
Tarbo's voice played over the loudspeaker one more time. "Rex, please, give up. I would rather not have my new friend rip you to shreds. She's not exactly happy that you took her dear student and her student's friend. Would you want all of these poor tribals to get hurt? Absolutely not, hm? Or are you just that sick?"
I checked the cylinder of my revolver, making sure that it was loaded, before flicking it back. It was time to act. His men were more geared, more trained, and had a ruthless way of combat. The only way we were capable of winning is to fight without mercy. To stoop down to their level.
"No holding back, alright? Or we die." I said, before a bullet whizzed past my head. I hit the floor as fast as I could, before rolling off behind another wall. The three others followed suit, before I shook my head. "We can't bunch up. Find your own places- and don't fucking die."
"I don't intend to." Luna said, nodding her head before flapping her wings and taking to the sky. Starlight went inside one of the tents, while Twilight stayed next to me. I looked at her with a questioning look.
"Twilight, that means you too."
"You can get seriously hurt-"
"Get the fuck away from me and find your own place!" I said, shoving her from below. She stared at me, her eyes wide, before disappearing on the other side of the wall. I could dear with her pissy or sad attitude later. Right now, we didn't have time to worry about something as dumb as that.
I stood up, peeking from the wall I hid behind. Multiple guards, dressed in pure black armor were sweeping the camp, taking out any tribals in their path. One of them happened to be extremely close to the wall I was behind, so I stuck my revolver at the back of his head and pulled the trigger.
It pierced through the vulnerable spot of his helmet, and his helmet was filled with thick, red goo. The other soldiers turned heads as soon as the shot was heard, but before they could do anything I was already off running. I was at a severe disadvantage. Starlight and Twilight had magic- and I had what, a fucking shitty revolver?
God, I hate being human.
I rounded across the wall, running straight into another guard. He tried aiming his rifle at me, but I forced my hands onto it, guiding it away from me. I looped my arm under his, and set my leg onto his knee, pulling with my arm and pushing with my leg as hard as I could. Eventually, I could hear a sickening crack from his knee, to which he dropped to the floor. I took the rifle from his hands, and aimed it at his head.
He raised a hand, about to plead for his life before I fired.
"Lucas- holy shit, he got Lucas!" I heard from behind. I turned around and started to spray bullets down range without aiming. The guards that were behind me dove behind the nearest wall. Eventually, the rifle ran out of ammo, and I ditched it, throwing it onto the floor and taking off in a random direction.
Thank god for this camp being so big.
Twilight's POV
I didn't know where to hide, or where to go even. I just ran.
But each time I saw one of those guards, a strange anger overcame me. Without hesitation, I blasted each one with a strong, powerful lethal spell, putting holes through each one of them. This was the first time my body had felt like this. It was similar to rage, but not quite.
I hid in a tent, trying to lay low for a little so I could catch my breath, but I couldn't when I came face to face with my mentor. Princess Celestia stood in front of me, her eyes looking down at my sympathetically, filled with sorrow. She lifted a hoof, brushing my cheek. "My student... Your face is scarred."
I instinctively backed up.
"Twilight, please, stop. That human your with has done terrible things. You aren't thinking straight."
I continued to back up.
"Twilight." Celestia said, her eye's flashing a bright orange.
"Sister." Celestia turned around, coming face to face with Luna. "Leave dear Twilight alone."
I continued to back up, being met with the wall of the tent. I stared at the two, watching as they each circled around eachother. Celestia looked at her with a certain rage, spitting on the floor in front of herself. "I was sort of hoping you'd stay frozen. I should've stoned you. Perhaps that would've stopped you better."
"You're not yourself, sister-"
"And how do you know who I am?! You've been gone for a thousand years, sitting on the damned moon while I had to run Equestria. And honestly, it was better when I was alone. You've been trying to take the main throne ever since you've come back. I know its true, I can sense it, feel it with ever fiber of my being!"
"What?!" Luna said, stopping her steps. "What ever gave you such a ludicrous idea? I would never do something like that, I don't want to take power from you!"
"Discord was right. You would play the innocent card."
"What? Discord-"
Celestia stood forward, her eye's flashing orange once again. "You're an evil, inconsiderate sister. I wish you weren't my family, Luna, because then I wouldn't feel bad for having to kill you. Yet, you happen to share the same bloodline as me. Accept my pity for you, it's the only thing that makes you important."
Luna flashed me a look, before staring at her sister. "Sister, please, calm down... You've been dealing with Discord, he's treacherous-"
"Yet he's more trustworthy than YOU!"
The tent was engulfed with flames almost instantly. I flapped as hard as my wings could let me, flying straight out of the door. Mere seconds later, Luna came from the same exit, and the tent collapsed on itself. Celestia stood in the middle, but different. Her hair was almost a complete red, and her eye's became orange with black slits. On her face sat a disturbing smile.
I cried out. "Celestia, please-"
"Celestia?" She asked with a smile, stepping over the fire. "Now what on earth gave you the idea i'm Celestia?"
"What are you-"
Luna shook her head, giving a heavy frown towards her sister. "I didn't think you'd ever show up..."
"Daybreaker."
I ran out of ammo quickly. The cylinder spun without a single bullet inside it, and I didn't have any left, so I ditched it. The next guard I saw I threw the revolver at him as a distraction, as it was all it was good for. Tents were becoming harder and harder to find as cover, as they were tearing them down.
Eventually, I was forced to run through the center of the camp.
I ran as fast as my legs could handle, before I was hit by an invisible force. I hit the floor hard on my back. I groaned, looking around myself, trying to make out my surrounding as everything appeared blurry. Though, before I could make sense of anything I was pulled up to my feet.
"Oh, sorry Rex, did I hit you too hard?"
I stared at Tarbo, shoving his hands off of me and stepping back. "You sick fuck."
"I've been wanting to have my way with you for awhile now. So, I'll make you a deal."
"I don't want to do any deals with a maniac like you!"
"We fight, fist to fist. If you win, we'll let you go. If you don't, I let dear Celestia do what she wishes with you. If you deny, then I shoot your kneecaps and still let Celestia do what she wishes with you." Tarbo said with a smile, taking a few steps back. We both quickly became surrounded by guards.
I didn't have much of a choice, did I?
I raised my fists, shaking my head. "It doesn't even matter."
"Oh, it definitely does." Tarbo said, before he appeared instantly in front of me, sending his fist into my gut. The next punch was on my side, and the next after that was to my throat. I fell back, clutching my throat, having difficulty breathing. I looked up at him, coughing.
He sent a boot to my face, forcing me fully onto my back.
"Stand him up." I heard from him. I was pulled up from under my arms to my feet, and forced to stand. Within the next second, more punches were delivered to me. My gut, my sides, my throat, face. Everything was hit with as much force as Tarbo could deliver.
He then took a step back. "Mmm.. I was going to let Celestia do what she wishes with you, but I guess i'm just a little greedy. You've caused a lot of pains in my ass, Rex. And, I really just... can't stand to see you live. So-"
He placed the barrel of a pistol to my head. My eye could hardly see anything, but I know what a barrel to the head felt like. I shut my eye completely, blood dripping from my nose and mouth. I couldn't stop him.
"I'll let the tribals fight over who gets to eat your dead body perhaps. They'd love a bit of grey matter in them, hm?"
Twilight's POV
"MOVE!" Luna yelled, diving for me as a beam of fire was spewed in my direction. Luna and I hit the ground hard, sliding in the dirt as we both could hear the laugh coming from Daybreaker. She stared over at our direction. She shook her head.
"Oh, perhaps slicing you would be more your forte?" She said with another laugh, a sword materializing next to herself, the blade serrated and glowing with a fiery tint. She held it in her magic and charged towards us. Luna stood and presented a blue shield in front of both of us.
"Twilight- get out of here NOW!"
I didn't question why, and instead moved. I ran in the opposite direction of Luna and Daybreaker, and moments later I could hear the magic shield break into pieces. I tried searching for Starlight, but she was nowhere to be found. Without most of her magic, she was most vulnerable.
My head spun in circles trying to search for Rex, but I could hear cheering near the center of camp. I ran towards that direction, hoping that I could find Rex, when I saw Tarbo punching Rex in the face as he was held up by guards surrounding them in a circle.
Tarbo pulled a pistol from his pocket and placed it onto Rex's head. He said something, before smiling at him. I tried to move, I tried to run towards them and stop them but-
BANG
The gunshot rang throughout the camp. I averted my eyes, staring at the floor. I began to hyperventilate, my eye's becoming teary and my stomach churning. I could feel myself crumble to the floor, before something pulled me up. I looked away, trying to keep my eyes closed. "No-!"
"Twilight- stop!" It was Starlights voice. I opened my eyes for just a second before I pulled her into a hug.
"R-Rex, h-he's-"
Starlight pointed where Tarbo was.
Tarbo's POV
The pistol should've blown his head clean off.
Yet, what stared back at me was not Rex in the slightest.
His eye stared at me, bloodshot and flashing with different colors. There was no bullet-hole in his head, not even a scratch. His body began to radiate red energy, and my guards hands began to burn. They were forced to let go, and Rex could stand perfectly fine. I took a step back, aiming my pistol toward it.
"You aren't Rex, are you?" I asked, trying to keep casual.
"Now what makes you say that?" It said with a smile, cocking its head slightly to the right. I began to feel something build up inside me, something that I hadn't felt in a long, long time. It was something I thought couldn't exist inside me anymore.
Fear.
"This weapon is the strongest in this planet. You're no match."
"I'd love for you to test that out~" It said, charging at me with inhuman speed. I got only a shot off before I was grabbed by the neck, and thrown into the farther wall. I hit with a force that was above my own. I shook my head, staring over where it stood.
My guards were being taken one by one, and ripped into pieces by the thing that stood in Rex's skin. It pulled their legs and arms from their body, consuming each piece of flesh into its mouth with snake-like technique, unhinging its jaw. Some guards were able to get away, but others were caught by a fire-like chain that protruded from it's hands.
It would sear into the guards flesh, before it would consume them whole.
I put both hands on my pistol and set it on maximum condition, pulling the trigger and letting the blue-energy projectiles fire at it at a rate of fire unlike any other weapon. Yet, it stood there, taking each projectile to its body as if it were only a scratch. It slowly began to walk towards me, and I squeezed the trigger harder.
I wasn't going to get anywhere with this.
I forced a teleportation in front of it forcing my fist into his chest with as much force as I could produce. It worked, somewhat, sending it back a couple of feet. Though, it's feet never left the floor. It simply stared back at me. I looked at nearby debris, and began flinging it towards him with my telekinesis. Nothing was working.
"What are you?!" I yelled.
"Some call me Satan, some call me God. But us? You can call us Rex."
It began to charge at me, but I teleported away. Not far enough, clearly, as I was caught by its chains. It flung me at itself at impossible speeds, only to send a fist into my chest as I flung past it. I hit the floor once again, but I didn't wait. I charged up a dangerous teleportation, all the way back home.
It was going to hurt, but so was getting eaten.
"Hm? All of that cockiness today and the days you kept us tortured, but now you're scared? Oh, the irony is just too delicious~"
I teleported.
Twilight's POV
It began to walk towards Starlight and I. Whatever it was, it wasn't Rex.
However, once it got a few steps past us, it's red energy dissipated and he fell to the floor. Both Starlight and I rushed to him, turning him on over to his back. He was back to normal, atleast that's what we hoped. Whatever took control of him before was no longer in control now.
Tarbo was gone, and his guards ran off or were... devoured. However, that didn't mean we were in the clear. Luna was alone with Daybreaker, and with the laughing and screaming coming from their direction, Daybreaker was still a major threat. I turned to Starlight. "Stay here with Rex- I'll be back!"
I ran off to the direction where Luna and Daybreaker were, and Luna wasn't doing so well. Multiple burn marks steamed over her fur, and she had a nasty looking gash on her right wing. That explained why she wasn't flying anywhere. Daybreaker made eye contact with me.
"Oh, look at you~ so precious. You know, I'll let you live if you just kill her for me. I promise~"
"Twilight, don't listen to her-"
"Luna, come on!" I yelled, motioning for her to come with. She gave me a confused look, but began to run with me as we made our way to Starlight and Rex.
"Oh no you bucking don't! You're not DEAD YET!" Daybreaker yelled from behind. I produced a shield over all of us, and shut my eyes, focusing.
"Twilight, what are doing? She's going to hurt Rex- He's not even awake-"
"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" I yelled, squeezing my eyes even more than before. My horn began to spark, but eventually I had channeled enough energy for a long-distance teleportation. I didn't know where we were going to end up, but it was better than staying here with Daybreaker.
In a purple flash, we had successfully teleported.
A bright flash illuminated a distant forest, hundreds of miles from where Twilight had originally cast the spell.
A second later, Twilight collapsed onto the floor, her horn burning from the magical heat, her mane frizzled and her eyes shut. Rex was still on the floor, in a coma-like state like before. Luna and Starlight were the only ones that stood, simply surveying the two in front of them, and the area they found themselves in.
It was deep, lush forest, with gigantic tree's. It was almost too perfect in terms of hiding, as it was so dense. The worst part though, happened to be that a certain Alicorn was chasing them, with the ability to burn the entire forest to the ground within seconds. Still, no matter how safe it was later on, at the current moment they found themselves in, it would suffice.
Luna looked at Starlight, before closing her eyes, sighing, and opening them once again. "Twilight will not be with us for some time. The heat of the magic she used shows that she was in a panic state. Horns only burn like that when their magic is overtaken by emotion. Twilight isn't known for that." She said, sighing once again, before looking off into the distance. "We have time on our side, Starlight. However, once we are in the clear, you will undergo heavy questioning from myself. Is that understood?"
Starlight simply nodded, not entirely thinking clearly. Her main concern was Twilight, as her horn looked pretty beaten. A shine of red displayed all over it, and cracks lined it. It was certainly going to be painful for her when she awoke, if that happened anytime soon. It was a serious wound that could be healed, but not with the current things they had.
"I will survey the skies. You have taken survival training, correct?" Luna asked Starlight, to which she nodded slowly. It was a brief course, but she knew how to make small shelter with sticks, leaves, and logs. She also knew how to look for edible food such as berries, wild carrots, or other such things. However, with a new taste for meat, she would have an easier time finding food.
Hopefully Luna wouldn't be troubled so much by it.
Luna took to the skies easily with a single flap of her wings, though she was slow, and seemed to struggle to fly. Her wing was certainly burnt quite badly, but apparently not enough for her to be too concerned about it. Starlight looked around, grabbing as many sticks, leaves, and other things similar to them to start constructing a small shelter. She used a couple sticks to start digging the dirt underneath herself, before sticking a line of sticks that protruded from the ground at an angle into the floor.
She set two sticks on each side, stabilizing the small structure she'd made.
She lined the back up with leaves, small bush branches, and anything else that would keep the wind and rain at bay. Atleast, something that would do better than an open pile of sticks. Once she covered it quickly, she backed up a bit and looked at it. It was quite large, and was definitely able to fit all of them inside easily. Was it strong? Not really. Again, it was a temporary shelter.
"Nicely done, Starlight." Luna said behind her, causing Starlight to freakout a bit and turn around quickly. She realized it was Luna after seeing her smug grin, and she placed a hoof onto her own chest.
"Princess Luna- you can't... can't do that."
"Mmm? A little fun never hurt nopony. Especially in such a time as this. If all you think about is the serious parts of life, you will never love your life, hm? I'm sure after all this time of being stuck here, you and Twilight know that all too well. Either that, or you've simply been consumed by the chaotic lifestyle that this world forces?"
Starlight used her magic to place both Twilight and Rex underneath the shelter, before sitting down inside it, shaking her head. "No, we did have fun from time to time. Mainly Twilight and Rex, though. I had only really gotten to know him recently. I guess I was just... afraid? It was all very new."
Luna nodded, sitting beside her, staring off into the woods. "Just how long have you been here?"
"Not as long as Twilight, that's for sure..." Starlight said, glancing over to Twilight. "She's been here for months. She has repeatedly told me that if it weren't for Rex, she'd probably be dead. They're really, really close."
"Speaking of Rex," Luna started. "Just who is he? We've been to that small house of yours, or I presume is yours, and have seen many notes regarding him. Is he a good person? That 'Tarbo' seems to think otherwise. Give me reason to trust your word over his."
"H-He's been simply amazing!" Starlight stuttered. "He's done good things for us repeatedly! Right before we were captured by Tarbo and his goons, he built Twilight and I our own room, and one for himself! He's made it his mission to make sure that we were okay. He even tried convincing both me and Twilight to leave him behind, because he'd simply be dead weight."
"How would he be dead weight?"
Starlight looked down at Rex. "He's dying."
"Oh?"
"Tarbo forced him to take this... pill of some sort. He needs a dose each week, or he'll die painfully. He's extremely near that point, and Twilight said that she didn't have the expertise to help him. Y-You wouldn't, by chance, know how to do that?"
Luna shook her head, much to Starlight's disappointment. "I was trained in all sorts of magic, including forbidden magic. However, medical training was something I never really paid attention to. All I can do is set him in a medical coma. It'll freeze his body, stopping all processes, though not killing him. It'll stop whatever is hurting him from doing further damage."
"Thank you Luna..."
Luna nodded before looking down at Rex and casting a spell from her horn onto his body. "It's done."
"That quick? N-Nothing changed.."
Luna nodded. "It's a simple spell. It doesn't carry any of the spectacular displays that other spells might have. After all, this spell isn't designed to be spectacular. It's designed to be useful." Luna went back to staring off into the distance. "We are on our own for a little while, Starlight."
"Just how long? Twilight should wake up-"
Luna shook her head. "Twilight won't wake up for a considerable amount of time. From what I see on her horn, she's more than likely sustained brain damage of some sorts. It doesn't look to be anything serious on the outside, which is a good sign, but it will take atleast a week."
"A week all on our own?"
"A week, all on our own, Starlight."
Starlight shook her head, before chuckling nervously. "I guess I know how Twilight felt now."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Like I said, she was all alone for months before I came along. Just her and Rex, nobody else. She even said herself that the only other contact they had with intelligent things was when another human tried to kill and skin Rex, and also sell her."
Luna shook her head, closing her eyes.
"Yeah," Starlight continued. "I didn't really understand what being alone meant. The closest I got was when I was in that cave, running away from Twilight and her friends. Even when I used to... well, you've heard, I was still surrounded by a group of ponies. I've never felt alone until I came here. Even when I was surrounded by Rex and Twilight, it all felt so... empty."
Luna nodded. "I know that feeling all too well. The moon may not have been as violent, but it was just as dull, boring, and lonely. In fact, I mastered a spell that allowed me to project a copy of myself. It was quite strange though, because it never was me. It never acted like me, but it spoke like me, and looked like me, atleast as close as it could get. It was just a little outline."
Starlight stared at her. "What?"
Luna nodded. "I told Celestia about it, and she simply said it wasn't documented on what that particular spell did. It was in the forbidden section when I was young, and I read about it. It was really the only reason I stayed somewhat comprehensible and sane on the moon."
"W-What else about it?"
"I'm not sure. Those years on the moon really are a blur. It simply said something about not being Equestrian, but that's all I remember. I'm sure it was simply my mind faltering. After all, spending that long on the moon is bound to have its effects on the mind. What do you think?" Luna asked, turning her head only to see Starlight staring at her.
"What?" Luna asked.
"That's... That's almost exactly the description Rex gave us about the figure in his head."
The sun was almost completely under the horizon, and the sky was darkening with every minute that passed.
Starlight had been put to sleep by Luna, while Luna simply stared off into the dense forest, or examined the three unconscious figures sitting beside her. She had noticed that Rex only had a missing finger, and his eye was damaged beyond belief. She could also feel a certain pulse of energy come from him every so often, but it was so minuscule that it was no wonder Starlight nor Twilight ever felt it.
It wasn't normal energy. She tried to decipher what it might look like in magic markings, but the energy acted as if it was sentient, changing feels and forms every time she got anywhere with the markings. Almost as if there was something else alive in him, which Starlight had told her he believed there was. Considering the magic being put out from him, she was inclined to agree.
The thing that concerned her is that the only magic she had ever known to feel somewhat like this, was that of ancient demons that plagued Equestria. They weren't born from the world of Equestria, but found a way there and inhabited it. She was trained how to decipher it when she was extremely young, as although they were completely gone in Equestria, she needed to decipher demons from regular ponies.
After all, they were able to take the form of ponies easily. They were masters in deception, and were brutal with their ways. Most likely the most brutal species that had ever existed on Equus. They were bipeds, with horns and yellow evil eyes that would pierce through even the most pure pony.
Could this be a demon inhabiting his body?
She stared at him closer, examining his body. He was tall, and quite intimidating in his demeanor. Atleast, from the short moment she was able to see him. He seemed to be focused, confident, and a little crazy. He reminded her of a pony she once knew a long, long time ago, in all honesty. Even his voice matched.
She pressed her hoof to the side of his face, and closed her eyes, her horn lighting up.
It was time to see what he was dreaming about in his stasis.
Rex sat in an empty white void, with the only thing keeping him company being his red-replica.
They stared at eachother, Rex's legs crossed while the other's were splayed out. The replica smiled at him before giving a light laugh. "I don't know why, but you seem a little funny to me, Rex."
"Mhm? Why's that."
"You aren't like the others I knew. You're an anomaly. For the first time in a long, long time, I finally feel something different, than the normal status quo feeling. It's addicting, almost."
Rex shook his head, before laying on his back. "I really, really hope they pull me out of this stasis bullshit."
"I told you, it's going to take awhile."
"Yeah? Well, i'd rather them let me die than hear you drone on and on about random shit."
Hooves stepped beside Rex's head. "So this is what Starlight was talking about."
Rex sat up, his face a little confused as he looked up at the tall blue alicorn in front of him. He pointed at her. "Luna, right? Mph, I would ask how you got here, but all I'm happy about is that there's something else other than him. It seems like time moves so slow in here."
Luna stared at the replica, tilting her head, about to talk before it talked first.
"Hi, Luna."
"And what are you?" She asked, stepping closer to it. It stood up, giving a bright smile at her.
"Oh that's irrelevant information. The question is: how are you? I'm sure the little fights between you and your sister must have hit a nerve eventually. It certainly did for your sister. I'll say, you two are quite irresponsible for allowing your world to be run without atleast one of it's leaders."
Luna squinted her eyes at it. "And just how do you know all of this?"
It shrugged. "I don't know. How do I know~?" It asked teasingly. "Even if I were to tell you, it wouldn't matter much. All you need to know, is that I'm on your side. Which, honestly, is a good thing. Dear Rex here is a little upset about the arrangement here though."
"Yeah, get the fuck out of my head!"
"See?" It said with a smile to Luna. "Perhaps I'm a little too aloof for him. Either way, he doesn't have a choice in the matter. But, Luna, how have you been? I'm sure lately you haven't been as well as you usually were, but I'm sure that you've been doing better than way before, hm?"
She kept her eyes squinted, an angry scowl replacing her look of confusion. "Are you a demon?"
It stared at her, it's face going blank, before bursting into laughter.
"What is so funny?!" Luna asked angrily, a little ticked off that such a serious matter was being laughed at. Demons were nothing to be laughed at!
It then shook it's head, a smile still on its face. "No, i'm not a demon. Though, that is a popular term for me. I know why you might think such a thing, but I can assure you I'm not what you're thinking. After all, I'm quite higher than that on a scale."
"And what scale would that be?"
"One that you don't need to know~" It teased again. "If you keep asking, I might have to send you onto the moon. I'll call it a reunion. I didn't know you were such a big fan of rocks, Luna~ especially space rocks. Perhaps you're a geologist in hiding?"
Luna opened her mouth, ready to yell at it before Rex spoke. "Talking to it gets you nowhere, Luna. Don't bother."
"Oh come on Rex- I was having fun! Way to ruin it."
"Fuck off."
The Fumina Woods
"We should not even be here."
Three men walked in the dense woods, the tree's almost as tall as buildings. Each of them were decked out in home-made scrap-like armor, with home-made looking weapons. They slowly scanned the woods, their weapons pointed to the ground, as if they were on patrol.
"Oh yeah? Tell Anderson that. It's not as bad as you think- the stories are just that. Stories."
They rounded a tree and continued their walks. The woods were quiet, and their senses were heightened because of the dark night that consumed it. It only made their nerves worse, and despite previously being in the woods plenty of times, it still scared them.
"Fuck you Kilian. You're scared too, admit it! You've seen the same shit I have."
"Yeah? And I'm pretty sure that same day we had some smoke-leaf with some Go-juice. Bad combo, bad trip. If you don't forget about the bad trips, you'll never have a good one." Kilian said whilst shaking his head, "Stop letting shit get to you man. You'll look weak. You want that girl at the camp, right?"
"Well, yeah."
"And you really like her?"
"Yeah."
"Then stop being a fucking pussy, and pick up your feet a little bit instead of quaking in your boots."
A sigh came from the other man, shaking his head. "Fine- fine."
"I mean, it's bad enough that your name is Jake-"
"What?! How is that bad?"
Kilian laughed. "You're literally a stereotype. You think with your other head, you're all about sports, and despite being surrounded by the hottest girls in camp, you choose the one shy girl, who probably doesn't even like jocks. You're done for man."
Jake grumbled to myself, but kept quiet. Kilian smirked to himself as they continued to sweep the woods, while the third person in their little group stayed completely silent. He was the only one wearing a mask and a sturdy helmet, completely hiding his identity.
A twig snapped to the right of them, and they all jumped, raising their weapons towards the direction, their flashlights illuminating the area brightly.
"The fuck was that?" Jake asked.
"Probably a rabbit, or something. It's nothin-" Another twig snapped, this time behind them, and with the sound of something moving quickly with the cover of the night. They all turned towards the sound, this time sweeping the woods with their flashlights.
"I-I'm not liking this man. This shit is too much- what if it's a rogue megasloth or some shit?! Have you seen those things?" Jake said, almost on the verge of tears. It was clear he wasn't used to actual tense situations, and was really hiding behind a fake front.
"Yeah- and megasloth's don't stay in woods like this dipshit. It's something else- something fast."
"Fuck..." Jake said, still sweeping the woods with his flashlight. They really couldn't see anything, so whatever it was must've run off, or is good at hiding in plain sight. When a branch snapped above them, they all looked up to see a figure jumping from branch to branch, before taking flight.
"What the fuck...?" Jake said, watching it fly off into the distance.
"It was a big ass bird. Told you it wasn't anything to be scared about. Come on, let's get back to camp. I'm not patrolling with a fucking wuss like you. All those weights but you can't handle the weight of your own feelings. Fuckin' pathetic man."
"Hey!" Jake yelled, "Just because I like living doesn't mean i'm a wuss. I'm quite capable-"
"Just because you can use your dick well doesn't mean you can aim well. That's what the firing-range manager, and your ex said."
"Fuck you!"
Luna took flight from the area the three men were. They bantered with eachother, and seemed non-threatening, but getting spotted by anything right now of all circumstances was a threat no matter what. She was getting considerably tired, which felt odd for her. She was usually up in the middle of the night, as it was her version of day.
Yet, after stepping into the dreamscape with Rex, the incident that took a lot more out of her than she thought, she was ready to retire to a nice bed of grass and dirt. Her survival training had taught her this, incase she ever had to run from the castle as a refugee. It was coming in handy, despite not exactly thinking it was practical in all her life during the time in Equestria.
She landed with a thud next to a sleeping Starlight, Twilight, and Rex.
She took one more deep look at Rex, examining his features over again. A missing finger, an eye so badly wounded that it was unusable, and a lot more bruises and scars all over his body than one would consider normal. He definitely had suffered quite a lot here, and having him out of the fight put them at a severe disadvantage. If anyone knew about this place, it'd be him.
It's like going on a tour.
Except the driver is going to random places, and the tour guide is asleep. This was not at all what Luna expected. When she was told that they didn't expect what was going to be on the other side, she never really thought that something like this would come out of it. And, above all, her sister had officially crossed the line.
That wasn't her sister, was it?
Luna laid down on the floor, her mind still racing.
Her sister must have been manipulated. Brainwashed. Something! That was not her sister in the slightest, and she hadn't been her sister for a long time now. Everything that could've kicked her in the flank was. Her sister was now Daybreaker, something conjured up from a nightmare she once had. Twilight and Starlight have been scarred. Her own guards have betrayed her. Oh, and they are also sleeping on the floor in the middle of a forest, with potential dangers surrounding them.
Of all the possible vacations from being a Princess, this isn't what she expected.
"We're back." Kilian announced to the forest, standing at the edge of it. Beside him were the two others from before, Jake, and the masked stranger. "I cant believe this- this is all your fucking fault, Jake. If you weren't being such a bitch yesterday, we wouldn't have to be doing this."
"How was I supposed to know that he was going to send us back?!"
"I don't know- how about us not finishing our fucking sweep?" Kilian said, stepping into the woods once again, the other two following his footsteps. "You know protocol. Sweep to the edge, then back. If we're quick about it, we'll be done before lunch starts. Today's Taco day, and I swear to fucking god if you make us miss it, I'll leave you in these woods with a stick as your weapon."
"Mmph.." Jake groaned, glancing over from left to right, the daylight making the woods much less scarier than before. Why was he ridiculed for not liking the woods to begin with? Everyone has heard the stories and the rumors, and Anderson himself won't even give good reason on *why* they're even sweeping the woods. "One day we're going to die out here."
"You're going to die out here. While you're getting mauled I'll be back at home eating tacos." Kilian said with a chuckle, giving him a wink. "And i'll be bagging your little shy girlfriend too~"
"She 'aint my girlfriend."
"Yet?"
"...yet."
Kilian chuckled again. "Well if you're going to survive for anything, let it be for her, or tacos. You choose. I'm stickin' with tacos-"
A sneeze from deep in the woods was heard. It sounded human, and alerted all three of the men to raise their weapons in the direction of the sound. Shuffling could also be heard up ahead, and what sounded like quiet talking. Jake turned to Kilian, whispering.
"Are there people camping in the fucking woods?"
"Well if you shut the fuck up, we can go find out." Kilian said, slowly stepping forward, one foot in front of the other, his eyes staring ahead, waiting for anything to happen. He was ready.
Starlight held her nose, wiping it with a hoof. "Jeez.. I think- I think i'm getting sick. A cold, or something."
Luna huffed, scanning the woods from their small stick-tent. "Things are getting worse, considerably worse. During the night, I saw three figures, of Rex's species. They were talking amongst themselves. Guards of some sort. Perhaps enemies from before?"
Starlight shook her head. "I don't think so. We're considerably farther away than before, and they don't have magic here. Well, celest-.. Daybreaker, does. Even so, I don't think they'd be apart of that group."
"Still possibly dangerous. We don't know whethe-" Luna's ears perked up instantly, her head turning in the direction opposite of their little tent. Starlight turned around, being met with the wall of the tent.
"What?"
"Someone's here." Luna whispered, crouching down. "We've got to move now-"
"Hey!" A voice yelled from the direction. "Hey- we see your little stick... formation thing! We aren't going to hurt you or anything but you've gotta' come out. We can hear you all talking back there."
Starlight's ears were now perked up too. Both she and Luna looked around, trying to find a way to get out of there without being found out. Teleporting was an option, but it was risky. Twilight teleporting them all to this random location was luck in itself. They could possibly be stuck in a rock, or something.
They were pinned.
"Come on- seriously. This place isn't safe! We've got shelter a bit a ways from here, you're more than welcome to join us. You definitely won't be the only one who found yourself stranded in these woods!" The voice called again. Luna recognized it as the man from earlier.
Luna spoke up. "And what do we have as re-assurance?"
The men stopped in their tracks, staring at the structure. Kilian shrugged. "Uhh.. I... I don't know. There's not really anything I could promise of re-assurance. I mean, we're not here to kill you, but words don't really go that far do they? Look- it's better to be over here with us than stuck in these woods. You've gotta' accept that, right?"
Luna groaned. She didn't like this, and showing what they actually looked like would probably lead to trouble. But what other plan did they have? Incapacitation wasn't viable, as she didn't want to accidentally anger another possible faction. They'd have to fight a war on all fronts, which is a recipe for trouble. Luna shook her head, staring down at Starlight. "We're left with only one choice."
"A-Alright.. If you insist, Princess."
Luna spoke up once more. "We've got injured here."
"Shit, really?" Kilian said, sighing. "Well, talking here isn't going to help them. We're coming in-" Before Kilian could finish his sentence, Luna stepped out from the side of the stick structure, along with Starlight, who was significantly smaller than the Royal Princess. All three men stopped, staring at the two, Jake's mouth wide open.
"H-Heh. T-That wasn't... what I expected in the slightest." Kilian said, his eyes still trained on the two exotic ponies. His thoughts ran wild of the possibility of their existence, but he had a job to do. Protect innocents, save the wounded, and help those who need it. Sure, these might not be your average traveler, but they needed help, right? "W-Where's the wounded?"
Luna gestured with a hoof to the structure, to which Kilian and Jake stepped forward cautiously, the third member sticking back, their weapon slightly raised in suspicion. Kilian rounded the small wall of the structure, to see Twilight and Rex laid there. It was surprising enough to find three unique species, especially so exotically colored, but a human in the midst of it! Injured, too it seemed.
"Yep.. These are certainly out of commission." Kilian said, turning to Luna and Starlight. "Can both of you carry them? We're not supposed to carry them if there are other civies. Protocol."
Luna nodded, flashing her horn with a little magic to pull Rex from his 'comfy' spot on the dirt and onto her back, while Starlight did the same for Twilight, albeit having a little more struggle with the weight than Luna. Kilian stared at them wide-eyed once again, before shaking his head. "Guess the rumors were true."
"Told you! This is what Anderson didn't want to tell us." Jake said, shaking his head. "Atleast they're nice, that much we know."
"Ah ah ah-" Kilian said, shaking his head, before looking at Luna and Starlight. "We don't know if they are nice yet. They haven't proven anything to us, and neither have we. Don't get your hopes up high yet. They could very well turn out to be some sort of human-flesh eater things."
As much as Starlight wanted to object, she knew it was wise to stay silent. Kilian gestured to the location him and the other two guards came from. "Come on, we'll take you to our home. It's about a twenty minute walk. We really aren't supposed to say much other than that. Protocol, again. Anderson will fill you in on the rest. No doubt he'd be interested in you lot."
With that, the five (with two incapacitated individuals) of them made their way out of the woods.
Luna could see gigantic walls in the distance, spanning for what seemed like forever. Wherever they were headed, it was a large compound. Something that excited her, and frightened her. Civilization was always a good sign, but they still didn't know exactly what type of civilization it was. Griffons had civilization, yet they were regarded as rude and barbaric. They would soon find out.
Kilian pulled out a small radio from his hip, putting it close to his mouth. "Open up, we've got two civies, two injured. They're exotic. Get Anderson to the gate as quick as possible. Clear any civies from the inner gate."
Jake gave him a confused look. "Why do you want them to clear the civies from the gate?"
"Could you imagine what riot could happen if they saw that the rumors were true? Word spreads like wildfires in there, you know how it is."
Jake nodded. "Makes sense."
They were closer to the front gate of the gigantic compound. The gate began to open slowly, like gigantic doors, yet instead of wood they were reinforced with heavy blackened steel, with various designs dotted all over it. It was intimidating, and easily caught the eye of Starlight. The designs reminded her of something...
Luna gazed at the entrance. "Your home seems fortified. This isn't a sign of a normal town."
Kilian chuckled. "Well of course not, but this is the Rim baby. You don't got walls to protect your civies, you might as well burn the whole damn town yourself. It'll save you time and resources."
Luna was beginning to get a sense of the type of society that ran here on the Rim. It was a morbid society, diving into pessimism more than optimism. It was the exact opposite of Equestria culture, which was one of peace, happiness, and optimism. She couldn't imagine living here all her life. She surely would end up diving into such degeneracy sooner or later, such as her sister had so easily, wouldn't she?
Standing at the entrance of the entire base was a man, dressed in a pure all-white trenchcoat, white pants, white shoes, the whole outfit was white. Everything, except for his glasses, which were black pilot glasses. He stood straight, his hands behind his back, and a smile on his face. Yet, instead of giving off a feeling of dread, intimidation, and insanity, he gave off a feeling of..
Warmth?
Luna could only describe the feeling as what she felt with her sister, yet his was a lot more dull. Still, the feeling was welcome, and as they stepped closer, they could make out that he was considerably taller than he seemed before. Standing a height of 6'5, he was taller than Rex. They were now only a couple feet apart.
Starlight looked concerned, nervous, and a little excited all at the same time, while Luna repressed any emotion she had, and remained in a phsyically stoic state. She eye'd Anderson, as he eye'd her back with a happy smile. His mouth opened to speak.
"Quite an interesting bunch, I must say." His voice was deep, relating to some of the bass instruments Equestrian artists would use in fantastical pieces of music. "I heard we have injured. I shall escort you to the medical center."
Rex and Twilight were taken to the medical center, and were promised to be taken great care of, while Kilian, Jake, Anderson and the third member of the sweep team all headed to a more private area. The room Luna and Starlight were taken to was a large wooden room, with a large wooden table in the middle. It could seat easily two dozen individuals, but only three chairs would be needed.
Anderson sat on one side, while Luna and Starlight sat on the opposite. Kilian and the other two were standing guard inside the room, their weapons at ease, and their faces not hiding the even slight amount of curiosity that they had about the exotic individuals in the same room as them.
Before any official conversation started, Luna spoke up first. "What are these rumors we have been hearing about? We have been told that because of our discovery that rumors are proven true."
Anderson nodded his head. "There are rumors of intelligent creatures roaming the forest. That sparked from the Thrumbo's randomly appearing out of nowhere. Thrumbo's are rumored to be wise creatures, and have often shown intelligence. You, are obviously, not a Thrumbo, but to townsfolk here within the walls you might as well be."
Luna nodded.
Starlight was next to talk. "I saw some designs on your... gate, door, thing. What is it? It looks familiar."
"It's our design for Wolfram, one of our easiest selling products for our caravans. You might know it as Tungsten. It's a valuable resource for things like lights and such, so we usually sell to towns that are trying to move up the technology ladder. From small wooden shacks with campfires, to decent housing and lightbulbs."
"You trade?" Luna asked.
"That is our main source of income. We're the largest trading organization on this side of the planet, and we've got a military to back it up. I should've probably said this sooner, but you're standing within our factions main capital, that being Ivory, the capital of the Quartz Empire."
"Empire?" Starlight asked.
"Well, I don't know what defines an empire exactly, but the name sounded good enough. As you can see, we've certainly got a big district here in the capital, and our other cities are much the same. Albeit, a little less extravagant as this one."
Both Starlight and Luna nodded, to which Anderson leaned back in his chair. "I believe it's my time to start asking questions. Firstly, what creatures are you? Creatures who can speak are a rarity, but not nonexistent, and fewer are as intelligent."
Luna nodded before answering his question. "We're Ponies, but we each have a distinct race. I myself am an Alicorn, while Starlight here is a Unicorn."
"Alicorn and a Unicorn. Those are species of myth, but I assume now that they're proven to be real. What is your name?" He asked Luna specifically.
"My name is Luna, Princess of Equestria."
"Equestria?" Anderson asked. "I've never heard of it."
"That is because it's from a different world."
"Excuse me?" Anderson asked, sitting up now. Starlight looked at Luna, a little nervous on how she was going to explain such an odd topic as this to him. It would be hard for even her to believe if she was standing in the shoes of Anderson. "I assume teleportation would be the method of such travel."
Luna nodded. "You are correct."
"Apparition is something that has been myth for a long time now, but with your species having been never found, I find no reason to doubt you. I've heard from one of my guards here that you were able to levitate the injured onto your backs with ease, as if an unknown force was doing it for you?"
Starlight's horn glowed, picking up a a chair to her right, before setting it down, not saying a word.
"That was all the proof I needed. Now, onto the next question-"
Starlight was a little surprised that he was taking this so well, and so fast.
Anderson cleared his throat before continuing. "You said you have injured, and I've seen them both. Another of your species, and a human. May I ask what happened to them, and how they've come to get their injuries?"
"I-" Starlight responded. "-can explain that."
Anderson nodded, letting her continue.
"Rex is the name of the human we've been travelling with, and-" Starlight suddenly realized a flaw with her explaining what happened. Having possible hostile relations with Tarbo and his forces might create a reason for Anderson to kick them all out, and they could very much use the help. "-he's taken Luciferium."
Anderson immediately stiffened up, staring at her with concern. "Luciferium, you say."
Starlight nodded.
"Only the biggest industries pump out Luciferium. One of them happens to pop them out like candy to their royals. So, if you wouldn't mind telling me, just how did you get ahold of Luciferium, and why did he take it?"
Starlight gulped, sighing. She stuck herself in a corner. "He was forced to take it. We were captured not too long ago, by another human by the name of-"
"Tarbo." Anderson replied, finishing her sentence, to which Starlight nervously stared at him. "He's the only one that I can see doing such a thing, and with how exotic you and your friends are, no wonder he'd capture you. He's enemy number one of our district."
Starlight sighed mentally, relieved that they shared a common enemy.
"Luciferium poisoning is serious, and we don't have any on hand. He'll die within-"
Luna cut him off. "I cast a stasis spell on him. This 'Luciferium' should not be a problem as long as the spell is within effect."
Anderson stared at her, before smiling. "If you're not worried, neither am I. What about your other friend, though? I noticed a cut on her face, yet overall she seemed fine, other than exhausted."
Starlight spoke up again. "Possibly magic poisoning. She used a teleportation spell to get us out of danger from Tarbo and his forces, and ended up getting us to those woods. We're far from where we used to be, and the magic exhaustion is magnified by the distance. She'll be out for a little while."
Anderson nodded. "So it seems like they'll be fine, as long as Rex stays in your spell, and your other friend gets some rest and food. I'm simply glad that you didn't fall subject to Tarbo's terrible torture. We've had to stop our caravans from even entering the area around his base because they were constantly being killed off and tortured, all for one reason alone. We provide supplies to the Broken Empire, and Tarbo has a vendetta against them."
Luna sighed. "We have another problem concerning this 'Tarbo' individual. He has another, more powerful ally."
"Oh?" Anderson questioned.
"My sister, Celestia, has been under the influence of something I can't quite get my head around. She's been transformed into a more evil, powerful, and destructive version of her prior self, named Daybreaker. An evil, twisted twin of my once sweet, warm sister."
"I see." Anderson said, nodding. "Well, if they were to attack here, they'd surely all fall victim to room temperature. They would be unwise to attack such a large base of our size without proper attack plans."
"Are you saying you would kill my sister?" Luna questioned.
"I would, if it came to it. I surely wouldn't want to hurt your family line, Luna, but my people come first. I would do it to my own son if he decided to do such a thing, even if it were to pain me. The greater good always outweighs evil, even if they used to be good individuals. However, we will do much in our power to not resort to the last thing on our list."
Luna nodded. "I share your view with my own kingdom."
"Them I'm glad you understand where I come from. While we're here, though, shall we get some food? I'm sure you must be starving from having to spend time in the Fumina Woods."
"Why do you call it that?" Starlight asked, to which Anderson shrugged.
"There is a tree in the middle of the forest with 'Fumina Woods' written on it. Likely by an old tribal group that used to live there. Instead of coming up with a new name for the woods, we simply followed that. They were there first, so they must have full rights on naming it, don't they? Now please, order anything you'd like, we more than likely have it. Kilian, come take our orders."
Luna simply looked at Kilian with a stoic expression as usual. "Banana's, not peeled, with a full pineapple."
Starlight looked at him as well. "Fish, if you could, with any water you have, if it's not trouble."
Anderson smiled at Kilian. "And the usual for me. It is Lunch time, is it not? Today is Tuesday, correct? Then you know exactly what I wish to order. Thank you, Kilian."
Kilian left the room, the orders stuck in his head like glue.
"Now, let's talk about our plan here. We're willing to have you stay with us, but you aren't going to be here for free. That isn't how business works and that's not how I intend you to show your worth. I want you to get a job somewhere, after we've talked to the public. Anything, anything at all. Even giving a free helping hand. You're citizens now, and citizens work. Any jobs you might think you'd do good at?"
Starlight gulped, a little nervous at the order. "P-Perhaps something with... chemicals? I know a lot about chemistry, and things like that. I-If you have anything open for that. If not, i'd take anything."
"We have a chemistry department, and someone is retiring actually. Though that won't be for another week, so we'll find you something else until that happens." He turned to Luna. "What about you?"
"Military control."
"Excuse me?"
"Military control." Luna repeated. "I used to be the head of the military in Equestria, and commanded them very well. Thousands were under my wing, and most, if not all came back after every war we had with other nations. I grew up as the tactician of the family, and I still pride myself on such knowledge."
Anderson smirked. "Well... We'll see what we can find for you."
Starlight looked at Luna, before looking back at Anderson. Things were going surprisingly smooth, and from the little time she spent here on the Rim, she knew that that was always a bad sign. There was always a hiccup in the road, and she didn't know when it would come.
Kilian and Anderson sat alone in the meeting room, across from eachother. Anderson had plenty of files in front of him, looking for jobs to assign the two new aliens that had recently left the room with Jake to find out where they'd be staying for the time being. Kilian looked to the right, staring and studying something on the wall before looking at Anderson, giving him a slightly confused and intrigued look.
"You... really think it's okay to just let them descend onto the city so quickly?" Kilian asked. "That's a risky move."
"Everything we've done here was a risky move, Kilian. Establishing a trade operation on a planet in which people will rob, murder, and pillage everything they see is risky alone. They are different from us, but as I see it so far, only in appearance. Aliens do exist, just not many on this planet Kilian. In fact, I think they might boost morale. We all have a common enemy." Anderson said, not even bothering to look up at the man he was speaking to. He simply shuffled the papers in front of him around, writing things in a red pen coated in gold and silver.
"That's just it though. Not many aliens exist on this planet. Don't you think the public would be scared to see two horses walking around, talking with people? They can move stuff with their minds too. That in itself is cause to bring up some sort of conspiracy in the shadows."
"You're right." Anderson said, glancing up at him for just a moment, before focusing on the papers. "It will cause conspiracies. It will cause some public out-lash and even some resistance, and when it does we will give them a stand to talk on, and to share their thoughts. Just because those things are inevitable doesn't mean we refuse someone help."
"But-"
Anderson let the paper he was holding fall onto the table, bringing both hands onto the table and clasping them together. "Kilian, if a family member of yours was dealing with a tough and deadly drug addiction, would you help them? Many will call you crazy, and say it is a waste of time. Many will say that he is an outlaw, and a thug. Would you still stick by them?"
Kilian nodded his head. "Yeah, of course I would! But that's family, and they aren-"
"Our people are our family, Kilian. Sure, not everyone here is related by blood, but that doesn't stop the bond from being made. Those who seek help, and need help, will get it here. Just because things might become difficult doesn't mean we simply throw them to the wolves, or in this case, worse. Tarbo."
Kilian stood up, turning away from Anderson and taking a seat on top of the table, giving a large sigh. He shook his head. "Yeah, I suppose you're right. Yet, that doesn't calm my nerves. Hell, you sent Jake out there with them. That was a bad call already! Jake was the one that was terrified of those fuckin' things and now he's the one directed to guide them."
"A bad call, you say?" Anderson said with a smile before standing up. "A bad call would be something that would prove to be detrimental. This is not the case with Jake leading those two. In fact, his fear will crack eventually. If we can get Jake, someone terrified of the forest and of its nature, to like two aliens that came from said forest, wouldn't it surely convince the public?"
"Holy shit... You're right!"
Anderson smiled, before taking a seat. "How do you think Starlight would like the job of Dishwashing?"
"I-I-Uh-" Jake stumbled over his words while talking to the lady in charge of the housing complex. She occasionally eye'd the two ponies behind him, but was more concerned with the way Jake was behaving himself. Ever since he was tasked with taking both Luna and Starlight to the housing district, he was a stumbling mess. Conversation proved to be futile.
Well, that might be because Luna told him to 'stop blabbering on with nonsense, or I'll cut your tongue out!'
She must be great in political debates.
"Jake-" The lady stopped him from speaking further by covering his mouth with her hand. "-you've said enough. I'm assuming Anderson gave you an order, to order me, to let these... horses-" Ouch. "-into our housing complex?"
Luna was the one who spoke. "Yes, that is the case. We were informed that you would help us get a place for ourselves."
The lady nodded, though not before giving a flinch to Luna speaking. She shook her head, giving a sigh, looking away. "I swear- if it weren't for serving on a trade-ship for years, I would be as bewildered by them like the rest of the town." She turned to look at them. "Look, I can get you a room, but it won't be anything luxurious. It'll be very cramped. We won't be able to get you anything better until the new housing complex is built, and that won't be for weeks. And even then, you'll have to pay to upgrade." She turned around, looking at the big housing complex. It looked like a giant apartment complex, but were considered permanent households.
Luna nodded. "That is fine. Anything with a roof over our heads is certainly better than staying outside in the blazing sun and the dangerous open landscape."
The lady gave a weird look. "Err... Yeah... Anyways- Come with me. We'll get you situated as soon as possible. I'm sure Jake here isn't exactly in the mood to handle you both- he looks petrified."
"Shutup!" Jake said, his face turning a little red. "B-Besides, I was instructed by Anderson to escort them wherever they go... something about 'making s-sure they stay out of trouble'..."
"Sounds like him, but the way you said it makes him sound like a pussy. Or, is that just you bleedin' over into it?" The lady said with a grin, before turning around towards the complex. "Come on now. Let's figure out where you'll be staying while you're here. I'm sure you'd feel a lot better when you two get a place to stay. Maybe there's an opening next to Jakes room-"
"Please dear god no!"
Daybreaker sat on the throne that Tarbo would usually sit on, but since she had quite the temper, Tarbo decided it was futile to argue with her. She was strong, more-so than Tarbo himself, given her magical abilities. Sure, his mindbending machine in the back of his head could count as magic, but nothing compared to being able to summon a sword out of literal hellfire.
Tarbo didn't need the Throne anyways. Instead, he was on the floor of the room, with a giant map splayed out. A couple of his high-ranking officers surrounded it with him, including JO-11. He seemed to be in the middle of trying to figure out where their escapee's were, and was trying to get opinions from the officers themselves, and any survivors. Daybreaker wasn't pleased with this.
In her own words, she described the plan 'useless' and cited that she would be better off by travelling in whatever direction any magical signal came from. She had said that with her 'superior capability' she would be able to find them much easier. However, she was a little glad she wasn't called upon that strategy. There hadn't been any strong magical essence on the planet since they left.
Tarbo sighed. "We must plan for the worst of scenarios. And, in this worst possible case, that would be them ending up right over here-" Tarbo pointed with a stick onto a large forest. "If they wanted to get the farthest way from us, it would be in this direction. This forest is right in the middle of that- and right next door to it is," Tarbo pointed to what seemed like a large fortress. "Anderson."
"Anderson?" Daybreaker asked. This seemed important.
"Yes, Anderson. An enemy of mine, and an enemy of yours. He's in charge of the largest trading company on the planet, with multiple fortresses dotted across the landscape. His military is something to be feared, even with our superior capability. He's a strategic genius."
"It sounds like your a fan of him." Daybreaker said with a grin, before giving a light chuckle. "To think that any one of your species could hurt me is to say that you could drown the sun. It's impossible, so please, give your speech a rest. It's useless to tell me such things."
"That's what you might think, but I've dealt with him first hand." Tarbo continued, despite her lack of interest. "He's more than just a simple human. He landed on this planet years and years ago, and is what I think a product of experimentation. He's a military genius, a scholar, and a killing machine. Though he'd rather stay behind his walls instead of out there on the front lines."
Daybreaker stood up off of the Throne. "Then we'll go there and turn his entire fortress into ash."
"Can't. Too risky."
"Bah- too risky?! Why do you place me far below my intended position? Aren't we supposed to be-" She smiled viciously. "-friends~?"
Tarbo felt a shiver go down his spine when he saw her jagged teeth and her reddish orange eyes staring at him. He nodded his head. "Of course we're friends, and because of that I don't want anything bad happening to you. Or me. Or my kingdom. Going in there with such a crazy plan will leave us with nothing more than a destroyed kingdom here, and that would mean my battle with the broken empire will be over before it starts."
"Sir." JO-11 spoke. "There is something that came up recently that I'd like to say openly."
"Go ahead."
"Well, since we are on the topic of Anderson, some of our informants that we heard from a month or so ago had heard rumors of spacecraft."
"Well that's hardly anything that'll-"
"-with ICBM's, sir."
Tarbo stopped speaking, and stared at JO-11. "ICBM's. Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Is that what you mean to tell me, JO-11?"
JO-11 nodded.
"It's a rumor, but if that does become factual, then I say we're fighting a losing battle. Even more of a reason to not charge in without a plan. We must make them fall, one by one from the outside- or even the inside. If we can get someone inside there, we'd have a much easier time getting their defenses down, and to find out if what that informant says is true."
"Understood Sir. Would you like me to inform our spies? We could have them deployed as soon as you give the word."
Tarbo nodded. "Civilian clothes, make them look rugged. Tell them to take pieces of silver and gold with them, along with a bar of plasteel. It'll be used as a barter to get inside, even if they can't offer anything in return. All we need is information, which will be worth more in its weight than plasteel itself."
JO-11 nodded. "I'll inform them. Deployment should only take a couple of hours- that is if we're permitted to take our aircraft."
"On normal occasions I would deny that, but with the recent events and how it could turn the tide of this battle, yes. Take the aircraft."
JO-11 nodded for the last time before leaving the room, leaving Tarbo, Daybreaker, and four other officers to stand over the map. Tarbo continued detailing his plan, and explained it in great detail to the people around him. Even the dis-interested Daybreaker found herself asking questions that would later on prove to be vital information.
The room Starlight and Luna were standing in was, as described previously, quite cramped. The floor was a dark brown carpet, with the walls being covered in white dry-wall, with the tiny bumps making it look worse than it probably should. The living room was quite small, but both of them could stand in it without bumping into eachother. The kitchen was only able to fit one of them. There was a small, slightly cramped hallway that led to the bedroom. It was oddly the most spacious of the 'house,' with a big bed sitting inside. It was easily able to hold both of them at the same time, so that solved the bedding issue.
The landlady had already left, along with Jake since they told him that they were going to rest for a little while. He seemed relieved with that information, and left in a hurry just after they told him. With the both of them now alone, they sat together in the living room on the floor. No furniture except for the bed in the bedroom, which didn't necessarily bother them.
Luna was the first to break the silence. "I suppose this is decent enough. It could definitely go with some more furnishings, but I don't expect us to afford something so soon. It is nice to be in private, though I do feel somewhat uncertain and on edge."
Starlight nodded. "I feel the same way. Twilight and Rex are in that hospital. It just... feels weird that we don't know whats going on over there, you know? If they wanted to, they could just end them right then and there and we'd never know."
"Why would Anderson and his people do such a thing?"
"Why not?" Starlight said with a shrug. "This planet is completely different compared to ours Luna. I'm sure you've already figured that out. People here just do things because they want to. There doesn't even have to be a reason. From what I've seen, there usually isn't a reason. It's just a sad reality that comes with living on this planet."
Luna shook her head, giving a sigh. "I cannot believe what it would feel like living here, alone from ones own kind. You had Twilight, but that was it. And, Twilight had nopony. She had Rex, but how can you feel like you aren't alone if you're the only one of your kind in the entire planet?"
"It wasn't easy for her. It wasn't even easy for me. But Rex? Even though he's shown little emotion, I know it's been the hardest for him."
Luna tilted her head in question. "How so?"
"He crashed here. His life was fine- well, as fine as one could get with childhood trauma. Anyways, he lived two years here by himself, where he had no one to teach him how things worked here. He had to figure out himself, and that is something I couldn't imagine doing. I almost didn't believe anything him and Twilight told me when I got here- so could you imagine what it would be like to have to have it happen to you?"
"Sure would get you to believe it though." Luna said.
"Sure, but it wouldn't be exactly the nicest of greetings. Twilight told me that the first night she had here was a relatively okay one. Rex offered her a blanket and a floor to sleep on- despite literally meeting her five minutes beforehand. It's... strange."
Luna laid onto her side, staring at the wall. "What do you mean?"
Starlight laid onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. "I don't know. It just seems like with everything this world has thrown at us and with everything that's happened, it would be impossible for someone nice to exist. Like Rex. His existence here on this planet seems like a fluke."
"Didn't you just say earlier that he isn't from this planet? Couldn't that be a reason?"
"Sure- but he lived here for two years. It's almost amazing that he didn't automatically adapt to the world around him. Well- atleast in that sense. He definitely adapted to the world, but not in the cut-throat way I would expect somebody normal to have."
Starlight could imagine patterns on the ceiling from the tiny bumps, imagining a picture in her head. It was almost like the stars- being able to simulate some sort of art. She saw herself, Rex, and Twilight, but the second she barely moved her head away the picture was gone, as if it lost signal. She huffed and turned over to her side, looking at Luna. "And now you're here. You're subject to this world now too."
"That may be so-" Luna said, continuing her staring contest with the wall. "-but I chose to come here. I've also been through survival training, which most regular ponies have not, even Twilight herself. I would have a much easier time living on such a 'cut-throat' planet."
"Maybe you'd have an easier time, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be immensely difficult."
Luna nodded. "That is true. The best way to get yourself killed is to act like you're unkillable."
The both of them sat in silence. For the first time, the silence was welcoming. It wasn't deafening, leaving a ringing tone in their ears. It wasn't silence where they could feel their nerves creep up on them. It wasn't anything where they could feel something bad about to occur. It was just peaceful silence. Something that hardly existed on the Rim.
After a few minutes of the silence, Starlight spoke up in an almost whisper.
"I wonder what Rex and Twilight are feeling right now."
"Unngghh- get the fuck out of my head!" I yelled towards the copy. I was on my back, sprawled out onto the gigantic white nothingness as the copy was standing, simply pacing around the nothingness with a smile on its face. It looked over at me with a nod.
"Oh come now- you don't actually hate me-"
"Yes. Yes, I do. I would rather die than have you here with me. I would rather be fucking obliterated by the fucking sun! Hell- can't you kill me right now?! I'd pay you!"
"With what?"
"I-I don't fucking know! Uh- uhhh... Uh- my life! Yeah, I'd pay you with my life."
"Rex, you truly are going mad."
It was right. I was going mad, and it was all thanks to that fucking thing. Its annoyance only grew over the hours, or what atleast felt like hours. It kept talking and talking, and I was forced to listen. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't ignore it by keeping my ears covered with my hands. He would just... speak through them somehow.
I was a victim to this fucking lunatic!
"A lunatic? That sounds a little too harsh to describe me."
"Oh my fucking god- get out of my head! Jesus christ... I-I still don't even understand what you are. I'm some normal idiot living on the edge of the fucking universe- what the hell do you want with me? My brain gets zapped and all of a sudden- you're in me. I didn't even fuckin' consent."
"Oh hush- i'm not in you like that. Besides, I'm you, remember?"
I shook my head violently. "You are most certainly not fucking me!"
"Relax- relax. I'm not going to fuck you. But I am fucking you."
"God- your humor is so bad!"
"It's yours!"
I lifted my hand into the air, balled it up into a fist and slammed it down onto the white nothingness that I laid on. There was no sound, no pain, and in fact it felt like there was no resistance. I shook my head, confused by this concoction of my imagination. Why did it look like this?
"This isn't your imagination. This is what is held between reality, and nonreality. Most people look to black as the absence of color, but it is truly white that makes you unsettled. In a room of darkness, you light a candle to see where the monsters are coming from. Yet, in a room of light, you find out just how many of them there are that were watching you all this time."
I ignored it.
"You want answers. I'll give them to you. I'm something between reality and nonreality. Something that exists in this landscape that you're seeing right now. I've been everywhere, you know. I'm not a god, yet i'm certainly not mortal. I can't die, yet I can be contained. In fact- the last time I was contained was from your dear friend Luna. Or, well, her sister."
Now that peaked my interest.
"A summoning ritual. Yet when it wasn't what they wanted, they put me in a container. Obviously not a physical one, but one that existed between dimensions. A spell that became forbidden to trap me- but eventually, one day, dear Luna was afraid of being alone for all that time up there on the moon. She let me out of it, out of the invisible binds that held me captive."
"She didn't like me. Well, after awhile, that is. At first she loved me. We were friends, good pals, the best you could imagine. She saved me- I owed her my life. Atleast, whatever life meant when it came to something like me. I told her she was right all along, that her idea's were true. To bring eternal night to her world. The opposite happened though. She returned to her normal self- and I only wanted her to see through her original idea."
"She hated me- until I managed to piss her off just enough to get her to come out again. The other her. Nightmare Moon. Just in time for her imprisonment to be over. She descended upon Equestria with a vile hatred, fueled by myself and her own intrusive thoughts. But instead of conquering Equestria like she said- she fell victim to it. Once she was back to normal, she broke down. Her sister couldn't identify what it was about her- just that something was wrong."
I shook my head. "You got her to do all that evil shit?"
It shook its head. "No. I was just simply fueling her hidden desire for it. Once she was truly back to normal, I went to what I've been doing ever since I began existing. Overseeing reality, and the barriers behind reality as well. All was well until you showed up."
I folded my arms, now sitting up. "You've been saying something like that over and over. Just out with it."
"You should've died, Rex. Should've. It was my job to see that it happened, too, and yet even with my little nudges you still didn't. A special bond was there that I never had felt before- like we were connected right from your birth. It almost felt like I was always apart of you, and you were always apart of me."
"But... Why?"
It shrugged. "Even I don't know such a thing. I suppose the universe has its own secrets, even ones that I can't find out. That's kind of ironic, isn't it?" It said with a light chuckle and a smile. It happened to be infectious, because I gave a little chuckle as well, and a smile too. "See, I got you to smile. Am I really that bad?"
"Yes. Yes, you are. That's like asking... that's like asking if The Joker made a really funny joke, and you laughed, that it didn't matter that he was currently stabbing your sister or some shit in the throat. That logic just... doesn't play out here, bud."
"B-But I'm not stabbing anyone!"
I groaned, looking up at the non-existent ceiling again. "It sure feels like your stabbing my fucking brain over and over with your constant talking. Seriously- why don't you just shut the fuck up?"
"Because before the incident with Luna, and after the incident with Luna, I haven't had anyone to talk to. And, Luna didn't seem to have as much of a problem with my talking as you are."
"Maybe that's because, I dunno, she was in crazy evil villain fuck mode? I don't know! How am I supposed to know? Aren't you the demigod or somethin'?!"
Anderson knocked on the door of the small apartment, waiting patiently in front of it. He was informed that this was the place that the two ponies had gotten, and in his opinion, it was absolutely perfect. Small, so they weren't treated luxuriously, and it was a common looking apartment as well. There were plenty of reasons on why it was perfect, and one of those reasons happened to be that Anderson didn't want them to feel like they were any different than the common citizen.
Legally, they were the same as their next-door neighbors.
A couple of seconds later, the door opened. He was met with the tired looking eyes of Starlight. It was obvious that their couple of days of whatever they had experienced had certainly hit them hard over the course of the past couple hours. Having a comfortable carpet might just be the best damn thing they've slept on recently.
"How have you been, Starlight?" Anderson asked her, waiting for a response. It seemed like it took a second or two for the question to process in Starlight's head, but once it finally did register she gave him a little smile. That certainly was a good sign.
"Everything's been going okay. We're really glad that you gave us a place to stay- despite only knowing you from... well, today. Luna has been in love with the err... carpet. I-I can't lie though, it's definitely soft enough to doze off on."
Ah, so Anderson's thoughts were right.
"I'm glad that you think so. I haven't come to inform you of anything strenuous, so you both can continue lying on the lovely carpet some more and get your rest." Anderson said with a chuckle. "However, I did want to discuss some things with you both."
"W-Well of course! Come in- welcome to our uh... new, homely abode?"
"Right." Anderson said, passing by her until he was inside the apartment. Starlight closed the door with her magic, staring up at him, waiting for him to say something. Anderson had noticed the Alicorn Princess currently laying on the floor staring back up at him
"Ah- Anderson. Thank you for such a lovely home as this- I must say, this flooring is quite comfortable."
Must be a horse thing.
"Well, I've come to inform you both of two things. Firstly, your friends. I've heard that your friends have been found to be decently healthy, except that Rex seems to be... sustained in some sort of coma. However, your friend Twilight seems to be recovering nicely. I have reports saying that she even talked in her sleep."
Both ponies seemed to be happy about this news, but stayed silent.
"Secondly, your jobs. Starlight, the opening will have to wait a little longer than I had anticipated, so you'll be stationed at a food place. It's a simple job, that being dishwashing. It'll get you involved in the community, and it'll be income. That's what you need more than anything else."
He could tell that she wasn't exactly... overjoyed from such information, but she definitely seemed to understand his reasoning. Beggars couldn't exactly be choosers, especially on the Rim. Working for a wage was certainly one of the more 'first world problems' on the Rim.
"And you," Anderson turned to Luna. "I've found something for you. It's something involving our military, and given your confidence I think it'll prove to be a test. You'll be joining me when I review the new combatants for our military. You'll be seeing firsthand how we operate, and just how strong we are here at the capitol. It'll be a tough job, and probably more boring than you might think."
Starlight sighed. Luna was getting the more interesting job while she was getting the dirty dish-washing job. The job that no one wanted to do. Even if Luna was doing nothing more than paperwork that'd be a much more interesting job than cleaning off other people's plates!
"I'm sorry Starlight that there isn't anything open for you that is interesting, but once the chemical department is open, you'll be the first pick. It'll be well worth the wait, I promise you. It's one of the more higher paying jobs in the capitol, actually."
That seemed to boost her mood a little.
"I'm sorry I don't have any more comforting news, but as you can imagine, things are going to be quite slow in integrating you both into our little society here. It'll take the people a lot longer to accept you both than it took me. But, I can assure you, no matter what happens, you will be safe here, and we won't throw you to the wolves. Or, Tarbo, for this instance."
Starlight nodded. "Thank you, Anderson. It's been quite the journey recently, and I'm just glad that we have somewhere to relax for a little bit. You would not imagine the things we've had to go through just to get here. You're actually the first person, other than those tribals we met, that actually extended an olive branch."
Anderson nodded, staring off just inches from Starlight's face. "This planet almost feels like it's existence is impossible. Doesn't it? The pain, the torture, the terrible things that happen here. It never gives you time to breathe, never time to simply sit down and have some time to yourself. Impossible odds become possible, and tragic events become common." He gave a loud sigh, shaking his head. "I'm glad you've found us, because I don't think you'd find many places like this one."
Luna chimed into the conversation. "You sound as if you're an outsider."
"I am." Anderson answered, looking down at Luna. "I worked on a trade-ship years ago, before settling down onto this planet. It seemed nice enough, and a worthy place to set up shop, but I didn't expect my trade-ship to just up and leave me afterwards. I guess they thought it'd be an easy way to get rid of me, and they were right. Interplanetary trade agreements was my specialty, but I guess they thought I just wasn't cutting it anymore."
He shrugged. "Considering what most experience on this planet, I consider myself one of the few lucky ones."
Starlight nodded. "I can see that. Our friend, Rex, happens to not be from here either."
"Oh?"
"Mhm. Except, instead of being dropped off here, he didn't really have a choice. Something about his ship going kaboom and, him being forced into an escape pod. He landed here, and as far as he could tell, he was the only survivor."
Anderson shook his head. It seemed that even coming close to the planet was cause for something bad to happen. "That's terrible. I hope things have been okay for him since his arrival here. Has it?"
Starlight's head bobbed between nodding and shaking. "Somewhat. He had a small tiny home, with enough supplies for himself. A loner, for sure, not used to company. Though, the graveyard he kept nearby his home showed that it wasn't always peaceful. Twilight sure has some stories about that, since she's experienced a few with him. She... isn't the same."
"No one ever is once they're here long enough. It's guaranteed to do that to you eventually. You either become stronger from it, remembering who you once were, or you simply stoop down to it's level. If anything, this planet does prove that morals aren't universal. If anything, morals are simply nothing but a rulebook. An option."
Luna nodded her head. "That has been proven many times in my own kingdom. Morals are only there for public display."
"And when nobody hears a tree fall in a dense forest, it never happened." Anderson said with a sigh. "If I had the option, I'd blow this whole floating rock into bits. Spare everyone on it, and spare anyone from ever encountering it. It's an anomaly, something so dangerous that it shouldn't exist. If I had my hands on a planet-killer, I'd certainly use it."
"Planet-killer?" Starlight asked.
"A gigantic device. It's sometimes as big as a planet, bigger, or perhaps even a fifth of its size. They come in all different types, from those that shoot a laser through the core, exploding the planet from within, or one that simply sends hundreds of nuclear weapons, letting them detonate on the surface. Such things are banned in the IPU, or Interplanetary Union, but that doesn't matter. They don't extend this far out, and they would hardly care about a place like this."
Starlight could feel something along her spine crawl, sending her fur to stand up straight. The thought that these other creatures had a weapon capable of destroying entire planets, and the way he talked about it so casually made it seem as if this was common knowledge. Or, perhaps even common occurrence. To be desensitized to such a disaster. "Why would there even be a need for a weapon like that?"
Anderson shrugged. "I used to think there never was a need for weapons like that. Until-" He gestured to the door. "-I got onto this planet."
Luna shrugged from her place on the floor. "Such weapons of mass destruction haven't been made in my world, but there is magic like it." That perked up Starlights ears, causing her to look at Luna. "Spells that are capable of wiping out entire cities in an inferno. Such spells are lost to time, as those who had discovered it made sure they would be sealed. I still happen to know them, however."
'Huh,' Starlight thought. Leave it to the Princess' to be able to still remember such forbidden spells.
Suddenly, her fur stood up farther than it did before. "Luna... If you know it, does that mean that..."
"Celestia knows it as well." Luna confirmed with a nod.
Anderson shook his head. "You needn't worry. Our defenses are capable of taking down almost anything. In fact, it's been called overkill many times before. The only way for someone to really hurt us, is if they infiltrate insi-... inside..." Anderson's speech slowed, before he shook his head. "Well, I think I figured out another security measure to be put into effect immediately. Luna, would you care to come with?"
Starlight looked concerned by this. "S-So soon?"
"Well, of course. It'd be better to integrate her into the position as soon as possible, don't you think?"
"Y-Yeah, but what if she... she wants to rest?" Starlight said, looking over at Luna. Inside, she was hoping Luna would decline, or atleast find any reason to get out of it. Truth be told, Starlight didn't want to be alone. It would be the first time she would be alone since getting here, and being alone in such a weird predicament might make her go crazy.
Or, give her time to think of her dire situation.
"I think that'd be perfect. I'll follow your lead." Luna said, standing from her spot on the floor, making her way over to Anderson.
"You needn't worry Starlight. It won't be long. I will have Jake escort her back here once it is all done. I will see you later." Anderson said with a nod to her, Luna doing the same. With that, the both of them exited the small apartment, leaving Starlight alone once the door shut with a soft click.
Starlight flopped onto the comfortable carpet once more, staring up at the ceiling. What was she to do? Being alone was the last thing she wanted, and definitely the worst thing possible in a situation like this. She was left to think about Twilight, her being so tired and hurt from her spell, and that nasty cut on her face. Or Rex, literally hanging between life and death from the effects of Luciferium.
What about herself? What she encountered?
What those men did to her?
She shuddered, shaking her head. It was best not to think of that, of all things. As the counselor, and basically therapist, for Twilight's school, she would've usually taken the route to try to cope with her emotions. Yet, as it stood right now, she couldn't. She remembered something Rex had told her long ago, before everything went down.
"Sometimes, you don't have the luxury of sitting back and thinking. Sometimes, you just gotta... do."
He was right.
"Of course he was right- he's lived here longer than I have. Life isn't as simple as it used to be, Starlight. Sometimes you just gotta' do." Starlight told herself, staring at the door. Yet, what could she do? What was there for her to do? Was it really okay for her to do anything right now?
She was in unknown territory, with unknown people with unknown motives.
"If Rex could do it, so can I."
"A purple horse, huh? Who would've thought we'd be doing shit like this. Anderson says the both of them are important, but never told us why."
"He never does."
"But look at her! She looks so fucking adorable. How can something on the Rim look that cute?"
"I don't fucking know man- but just cuz it's cute doesn't mean it ain't deadly."
"True."
The two doctors kept talking to one another, sitting just outside of the room that Twilight was currently asleep in. The room was all white, except for the occasional blue tile. The door to her room was open, which allowed both doctors to peer over at her. They had to fend off quite a few 'visitors' trying to get a peek at her, but everything had eventually calmed down. It seemed that once they got her into the hospital, word got around of her.
And two others. Which, they hadn't met yet.
One doctor, with the name tag 'Blakely' was sitting on a bench. He had a black buzz-cut, something quite odd for a doctor to usually have. The doctor sitting next to him had the name tag 'Jeff.' Jeff had shaggy blonde hair with glasses on, his face much slimmer than Blakely's. However, he was also a lot skinnier than Blakely.
"Remember what she was saying earlier? Somethin' about a hayburger." Blakely said, sipping a cup of coffee that he currently held in his hands.
"Well, she is a horse. I'm sure a 'hayburger' is the most delicious damn thing to her. Hell, if I was a horse I'm sure i'd eat it too. B-But what does it even look like? Like, is it bread with just hay inbetween? Is the hay cooked or something?"
Blakely shrugged after taking another sip. "Hell if I know."
Twilight shifted in her sleep lightly, her head turning from the right side to the left. Jeff looked like he was about to explode. "That is so fucking adorable. Just look- look at her-"
Twilight's eye's shot wide open.
She sat up immediately from her sitting position, her eyesight blurry from opening her eyes so suddenly. With a groan from the stinging pain, she lifted her hoof up and wiped her eyes with it, trying to get a better look at things. She saw white all around her, and what seemed to be a bed that she was currently laying on.
And a figure, fastly approaching her.
"STAY BACK!" She yelled, charging as much energy as she could into her horn. Sadly, she had no magic in her reserves, so there was nothing being charged. Blakely, the man who had approached her put his hands up, slowly backing off.
"H-Hey-" Jeff said, outstretching one of his hands. "W-We ain't gonna' hurt you. W-We're Doctors. Your friends brought you in-"
"How do I know that's not a lie, huh?!" Twilight yelled. "How do I know you aren't working for him, hm?! Why don't I just blast you both to tartarus!"
"P-Please don't do that Ma'am!" Blakely yelped. They didn't know she didn't have any magic left, so they believed that she very well could blow them into pieces if she very well desired. "W-We got your hu-human friend in the next room! W-We swear- you can go see!"
Twilight narrowed her eyes at them, forcing the covers off of her body. She definitely felt weak, and once her hooves hit the floor she knew she was going to have trouble walking. That didn't stop her from trying though. She kept her horn aimed at the two Doctors, forcing them to back out of the room and guide her to the room next door to hers.
"Open the door!" Twilight yelled, forcing Jeff to shakily grab the door handle and twist it open, pushing the door open and stepping aside for her. "Now back off!" She said, gesturing away from the door. They certainly got the message, and ran down the hallway as fast as they could, leaving her at the entrance of this room.
She entered the small room, exactly colored and shaped as the one she found herself in. Once she was inside, she closed the door, bringing her eyes up to see-
Rex was laid in the bed, covered by the medical beds covers. A couple wires ran from him to a machine, which monitored his heart rate. It was at 42 bpm, meaning it was lower than the average human's heart rate. His face was neutral, his eyes closed and his body slumped, almost lifeless.
Twilight slowly made her way towards him, struggling to do so. Each step on her hoof was painful, and once she got next to the bed she rested her to front hooves on it. She stared up at Rex, studying him intently. He was definitely out, but he was still alive, as his heart monitor suggested.
Her throat began to tighten with pain. She felt sorry for him.
Being stuck in a loop between life and death until they find another Luciferium pill for him. Constantly dangling from that tiny thread of life. That thought scared her, and she wasn't even the one dealing with it. She let her right hoof fall onto his limp arm, slowly tracing it down to his hand.
She could feel that a spell was placed onto him. Definitely placed onto him from Luna or Starlight while she was out, and was likely suspending him from dying. She shook her head, staring down at his body before noticing something against the wall, facing towards her.
A mirror.
She stared at it, seeing the jagged scar run diagonal across her entire face. It wasn't necessarily an ugly scar, but it would be hard to pass such a scar off as 'an accident' back home. How would her friends react when they saw it? How would they feel? Would they even care?
"Of course they would care..." She said to herself. This world had really gotten to her after all, huh?
And, home. Home wasn't something she had thought about in a long, long time. Atleast she hadn't forgotten that little part about herself. She was still fighting for something. For her, and Starlight, to both return home. And, now Luna, since she was now involved.
She didn't know about Rex, though.
He was so close to death, and no such pills existed in Equestria. The likeliness of him surviving this is...
"Almost zero..." She said, with her throat tightening up even further. A tear ran down her eye as she now stared up at Rex's almost peaceful looking face. She was quickly brought away from her staring contest with Rex however, when she heard a couple of footsteps stop at the door, before the door swung open.
"Ah, Twilight. I'm glad you're awake.
Furniture shopping probably wasn't the best idea to start with, but Starlight didn't know what else to do.
Walking the streets of the capitol was as awkward as it gets- being stared at from every direction, with everyone talking about you. It wasn't that she wasn't okay with that, in fact she was used to being looked that way in Equestria all the time since she used to be an evil villain. Still, what made it the worst was that she didn't know what they were thinking.
What their motives might be for an innocent looking Pony in the middle of a capitol, where she was one of the few of her kind.
She was now inside a store, which was conveniently named 'Furniture Store.' When she had got inside, she noticed that it was pretty empty, and that the person running the shop was currently talking to someone else. It was better that way- best make herself known when she was ready to pay.
"Oh..."
Paying.
How was she going to pay for anything when she didn't have money for it? Perhaps she could just browse and see if she could smooth-talk the cashier into something. That seemed like the most logical thing to do in this situation. She promised that she would come back eventually and pay whatever she 'bought' back if her plan did work.
It was just for the time being, that's all!
She gazed at all the different furniture items. From bed frames, to mattresses, to couches and even T.V's. Except, she didn't really know what that was. She shook her head when she saw the T.V's get even bigger, and bigger, and eventually becoming so big they had to be mounted on a wall.
"I don't get it... why would you buy a big black box? That big, too?"
Things in this place were really weird. But, that was to be expected. She knew what she needed to get. Firstly, a bed frame. That'd be nice, to not have the mattress simply laying on the floor. Perhaps she would be able to get another mattress sometime later for herself. She didn't mind being next to Luna, but she could only imagine what it might be like sharing a bed with someone literally twice as big as you.
The thought sort of scared her, for some reason.
She also needed a couch. Something for the living room, that was for sure. All of the couches in the store all seemed to be pointed at the big black box, which caused her to question what the hell the thing was even more. Something to stare at while they conversed? She could see her reflection in it, but that'd be a waste of money for a mirror that hardly reflected.
She spotted a brown couch, being moderately big enough to allow both her and Luna on it at the same time. That was the one she wanted, and with a bedframe outlined with some sort of blue metal, she pretty much was all set to go. All she needed now were some decoration items.
She picked a circular clock that would be able to hang on the wall. A globe, obviously not of the Rimworld, but oddly had similar names to some cities in Equestria. "Manhattan? Really?" She said with a chuckle, shaking her head. She also spotted a circular dining table. They could fit that somewhere in the living room, she was sure.
"Okay... Everything's picked out, now I just need to-"
Starlight's eyes met with that of the Cashier, who was staring directly at her with her mouth open.
"Well there goes remaining silent..." Starlight mumbled to herself, slowly walking up to the cashier. "H-Hi, I was wondering if y-you uh... were selling that couch and that bedframe? A-And some other items."
Sweet Celestia, this was awkward!
"I-uuhhhhhhhh..." The cashier looked over at what she pointed at, her voice trailing off as she was obviously not thinking straight. The cashier had curly dark-brown hair that laid just above her shoulders, and her voice was very squeaky and soft. Obviously the shy type. "Y-Yeah.. We can get you those."
"Great! I-uh, don't have anything to pay with but, Anderson said I could come and get some furnishings..?"
That sounded like a question, but the Cashier thankfully bought it.
"O-Oh y-yeah! I-If Anderson said so, we'll get it to you. W-What other things did you want?"
Starlight showed her the globe and the clock that she wanted, along with some other things that the Cashier had pointed out for her, like a lamp and some chairs for the dining table. Before long, the Cashier already booked everything. "A-Alright, it'll take a little while f-for the movers to get there. They're on a j-job right now, but I'll notify them w-when they get back."
"Oh, really? I don't have to do it myself?"
She shook her head. "N-No, t-that'd be too much for one p-person to handle."
Starlight nodded her head. "Yeah, you're right. Well, I gave you the apartment number, right?" Starlight asked, double checking that she didn't forget anything. When she Cashier nodded, she nodded back to the Cashier. "Alright, I guess I'll wait at home then. Thank you so much!"
"T-Thank y-you for shopping- uh- here..."
Before the Cashier could even get that last word out, Starlight had already vanished from the store.
Twilight heard Luna's voice after the man's voice. Twilight stared at Luna, who was walking towards her now. Luna draped her large wing over Twilight's much smaller body, and gave her a little smile. "It has been a very chaotic couple of days, I must say. It has been so confusing, why, I think Discord might be a little jealous. How have you been feeling? I see you've found Rex."
Twilight's brain wasn't functioning at that moment. Her mind was racing from Rex, to what had happened before she woke up in the bed, to what was currently going on. Luna was tapped on the shoulder by the man. "Now Luna, I'm sure your friend has gone through quite a shock recently. The doctors sure looked terrified. Plus, she is in no shape to do much. How are you feeling, Twilight?" The man asked.
"Fine." Twilight finally responded, though she definitely didn't feel fine. She felt weak, and she was also starving.
"What caused those doctors to run so frightened like that, if I may ask?" The man asked.
"I didn't know what their intentions were, or who they were. You try waking up in a bed in an unknown room, with two people standing right outside and see how you like it."
"Twilight! This man here is our friend. What is with the rude tone?" Luna asked, obviously confused by Twilight's hostile tone. Twilight looked at her, a scowl resting on her face. Truth be told, she didn't know why she was in an upset mood, but she didn't stop it by any means.
"Are we friends? No. I've never met him. He's never met me. Maybe you have, but I was sitting in that damned bed, burning from the inside out from mana poisoning!"
"Twi-"
"-and where is Starlight? How do I know you haven't turned your backs on us like Celestia? You going to turn back into Nightmare Moon or something? How do I know he's trustworthy!"
Luna felt a surge of anger well up in her throat, but she didn't let it out. Whatever was ailing Twilight's mind was forcing her to say things she surely didn't feel. Luna looked at Anderson, who now had his arms folded in a questioning, yet intrigued manner. He didn't seem put off by her words one bit. Luna looked back at Twilight and shook her head. "Twilight, I do not know what has gotten you so upset, but you must go back to your room-"
"I'm not leaving this room! I'm staying right here, with Rex. You're welcome to try to get me out, but you'll fail!"
Twilight knew she couldn't stop Luna, or even the man from forcing her out of the room. The both of them knew it too, but Luna simply nodded. "Then you shall stay in this room. Nopony here is trying to force you to do anything you don't want to."
"You're damn right i'm not doing anything I don't want to!"
"Twilight-"
"Shut the FUCK UP!"
"TWILIGHT!" Luna shouted, her royal voice coming through a little. Twilight stared her down, but went silent. "What has gotten into you?! Anderson here had found us in the forest, willing to help tend to you and Rex, and you wake up and start causing a ruckus! I've never seen such a display of disrespect from you. I'm starting to think this world is poisoning you!"
"IT HAS!" Twilight shouted, stomping a weak hoof onto the ground. "You don't know what I went through! You're lucky, you know. You have me, Rex, and Starlight. I had no one! I was alone- and yeah, I am getting poisoned. That's what getting a knife slashed across your face does! That's what seeing the person you trusted all this time get beat in front of you does! That's what hearing that one of your friends was used and abused does! Do you know what that feels like!?"
"Perhaps not in-"
"NO! You don't!" Twilight interrupted. "You don't know what that feels like. You never will. It's funny- the two most powerful rulers in all of Equestria, and yet one becomes a killing machine, while the other is blindly naive! It's starting to make sense now. It's all starting to come to me. I miss my friends more than you know, Luna. I miss Spike, I miss my castle, I miss being able to just grab a book and read it in the corner of the library, but NO! I can't! Those days are gone- luxury, is gone."
"You know what I've finally realized, Luna?" Twilight continued, her eyes squinting at her verbal opponent. "You're weak."
Luna's face scrunched up at the words, before shaking her head. "Anderson had just told me earlier in the day that you eventually become like the kind that live on this planet. That you will be plagued by their rules. It seems you are no different. Perhaps Rex wasn't as good of a friend as you made him out to be. Perhaps, he was all you had. Perhaps, you were weak to trust a killer."
"Don't act like you haven't killed, Luna. I've read the forbidden history books."
"Oh? And do tell me, what it was that I fought for."
"Nothing." Twilight said with a smile. "You fought for nothing. In fact, you fought because you were upset that the people didn't treat you equal. You fought because you felt like you didn't belong, and that they didn't come to fear you like they feared your sister, my mentor. And, honestly, I see why that is now. You're despicable, Luna. No wonder the Moon was the only lover for you."
Before Luna could retaliate, Anderson stepped in front of her. "As much as I'm glad you two are getting back to knowing eachother, very well might I add, we must attend to other business. Twilight, do you perhaps have any requests? Painkillers, drinks, food?"
Twilight stared up at him, giving a wide smile to him. "Anything that you can get me, I'll be happy with. Thank you for being so well spoken, unlike my friend behind you."
Anderson gave an awkward smile, before nodding his head, and pulling Luna and himself out the door, closing the door with a small click. Luna stared at Anderson, a bit angry at what he had just done, but before she could speak Anderson instead spoke first. "I know, I know. You didn't get the last word. But what you are forgetting Luna, is that your friend is experiencing mass amounts of Trauma in a short period of time. She hasn't been here for as long as I have, and I understand that going through so much of that trauma so quickly will leave devastating effects."
"I don't get it though." Luna said, giving a loud sigh. "I've never seen her, or heard her speak like this. Ever."
"She's a different person now. You see that. The person she used to be is still stuck inside, somewhere, but it's all protected by the equivalent of a billion pieces of reinforced metal, just in the form of a mask, and emotion. You must remember, Luna, that you are no longer on your world. You are in a different world entirely, and the worst one of them all. She's gone through a lot, and eventually so will you. Don't let it swallow you whole."
"Like it has to her?" Luna asked.
"She hasn't been swallowed yet. You see how she is clinging to your friend, Rex? That means she isn't completely gone. Somewhere, somehow, she still cares for that man in that bed. The context doesn't matter. That feeling of friendship, or love, or whatever it may be shows that you're still alive. That you've got something worth living for. We've all got a motive, hm?"
Twilight stared at Rex, finding herself laying on the floor beside his bed. Her hooves were too weak to support her body any longer, and the manaburn inside of her was still hurting. It was definitely poisoning her at this point, but it wasn't so strong where it'd kill her. She felt that kind before, and it was much more painful than this. She chuckled at the memory. After the entire Tirek incident, and the 'party' afterwards, she felt like she was going to die.
Well, the doctors actually told her she would.
She wondered if Tirek would ever survive in a world like this. He was known for being greedy, which was almost every person on the planet here. Yet, would he be able to commit the crimes against nature like everyone else here had? She didn't know if he would. Sure, he was a 'villain,' but atleast villains were able to be redeemed. Somewhat. Atleast in Equestria, their motives were more tame than simply killing someone just to kill them.
Now that she thought of it, she hadn't seen any real death yet.
Sure, she was involved in countless fights, but even in dire events such as the Tirek event, or even the changeling invasion, there wasn't a single recorded casualty. There had been records in the past describing bloody wars, yet in recent times Equestria hadn't seen a single bloody war. Sure, wars that definitely affected people in negative ways, but nothing that would've had someone impaled with a ten foot spear.
She shook her head. It was time to stop thinking about home. It'd only make her more homesick, and definitely sick. She might be able to find a way home, but she didn't know if that's where she belonged now. If her friends found out what she was like here, would they be able to be friends with her?
And here she was, on the first few days here on the Rimworld, thinking that eating meat would've made her friends hate her. Now, it was almost a guarantee that her friends would've hated her. Or, atleast disliked her thought process. But, what would they know?
"They don't know anything. They don't know real pain. They don't know what I've gone through..."
Perhaps she was being too crazy and insecure. She shook her head once more. She just told herself to stop thinking about her friends and home, right? Why was she continuing this path in her mind that would only cause her great amounts of pain?
"I miss reading..."
She whispered to herself. She missed all of life's normal benefits. Like being able to get a hot meal every night, and being able to sleep comfortably without having to think about what might happen tomorrow. Where you could get a nice, big book with a red smooth cover, and all you had to worry about was a presentation that you had to perform the next day. She knew she took those things for granted, even back then, but she didn't know exactly how much she took them for granted.
She tried to remember all of the books she read, ones where she could practically recite every word on it, yet she couldn't remember. She knew she had the memories, the knowledge, but it was as if it was locked away behind a safe in her mind. There were too many things going through her head at that moment.
"When will there not be?" She asked herself.
"Guess never..." She answered shortly after.
Everything's perfect!
Atleast, that's what Starlight thought. She wasn't so sure what Luna would think of the place. It didn't matter what she thought anyways- she got furniture! She did it all by herself, and she was damn proud of it. Luna was off having fun and doing all that, well she loses out on deciding what furniture they get!
Yeah! Starlight was the Furniture Wizard!
"Furniture Wiza...rd..."
Sounded much better in her head.
She flopped onto their new couch and stared up at the ceiling. What was taking Luna so long? The sun was almost at the horizon. It was definitely late afternoon, and all she was able to do was wait! She could go out and explore the city but- by herself?! Who do people think she is, crazy?
No, she's going to do the safe thing, and sit right there on that couch.
Ah, yes. Comfort.
"At least I get to sit on this super comfortable couch while she gets to stand up right and deal with... whatever it is. I get to laze about and do whatever I want!" And whatever she wanted, she could definitely have! The only problem was, there wasn't much she wanted to do with the very small amount of options she had.
"Ugh... Life is so boring- almost makes me feel like 'our town' had more things to do. And it was in the middle of nowhere!"
Here's to hoping that Luna would hopefully get off soon.
Rex stared into the nothingness, thinking of nothing in particular, his face blank. His companion in the white void had finally gone quiet, but that didn't help Rex in the slightest. The constant talking of the insane phantom had put him in a sense of calm almost, although annoying. Without it, everything felt so empty and, well, scary.
He smirked.
After all this time and after everything that's happened... After being shot, stabbed, starved, abused, tortured, and everything else, he thought he would've been battle-hardened to an extent. Something that he had seen from all of the movies and shows he used to watch back on his tradeship. Yet, the opposite happened. Sure, he was much less afraid of certain situations, and learned a lot because of them, but he was constantly in fear of being put in those situations again.
His tough exterior was cracking.
He wondered when he would finally cry, like one of those scenes where the character has a moment of weakness and balls their eyes out. He wondered if it would be in the next couple of minutes, hours, days, or even years. Or, if it would never come.
In fact, if he cried in this white void would it even count? His real body was in a stasis of sorts, not waking up. What if he passed away while in this void? Would it fade out into darkness- everything he worked up to being pulled away from him so easily? Without even getting to say...
Goodbye..?
With a sigh, he knew that he had to accept that it was a possibility. It was the most grave of circumstances, between life and death. And he wasn't blessed with being normal. No, he was cursed with the strange phantom that lived within him. Yet, in recent times, he was more accepting of the strange being.
Companionship was something he felt like he didn't need, but he knew deep down inside he really did.
"What's going to happen to me?" Rex blurted out, turning to the phantom.
"What do you mean?"
"Am I going to die? Or get through this? Or will they never wake me up?"
The phantom shrugged. "I don't know. It's a mystery."
"Well what do you think?"
The phantom cocked its head, staring off into the void, allowing a hand to come up and stroke its head. "I think that with how much Twilight cares for you, and how much her friend cares for Twilight, you will make it out. You've been the only friend to Twilight, and you make up half of the only friends Starlight had here. You've certainly proven yourself to them as someone to risk themselves for, and I think that the purple on would be willing to do almost anything for you."
"How do I know you're not just saying that to make me feel better?" Rex asked, a little suspicious.
"You asked what I think. If I wanted to tell you what you wanted to hear, I'd tell you a lot more than just 'oh, they'll pull your ass out.' I don't do things for people's feelings. You, of all people, should know that."
"Well... What do you think they're doing?"
The phantom sighed. "I don't know. Maybe they're battling off more foes, dragging your body to safety as we speak. Or perhaps they made their own little house, and are healing you up nice and good. Or maybe they're dead, and some cannibal is hauling you off to get boiled for human stew."
Rex chuckled. "That'd suck, wouldn't it?"
"Sure would. But hey, at least you wouldn't feel it."
"I suppose so."
They were quiet for a second, when the Phantom spoke up. "Why did you start talking to me like a normal person?"
"Hm? Oh, I... Don't really know. Boredom, I think, for one. And two, I realized that... Well, why would I want to spend these possible last moments with someone in my head that I don't like? If I was going to die, I want to be at least with one friend. Even if they're not normal in the slightest."
"You seem like you're really set on thinking you're going to die."
Rex shrugged. "Can you blame me? There's not a single sign pointing to me surviving. Sure, it's pretty much because there's no sign of the outside world at all right now. It's more than that though. Twilight and Starlight are great- and I'm so happy that they came into my life. But perhaps they found something better, or someone better."
"You also seem set on playing yourself down. Why is that?"
"It's just the truth."
The phantom shook it's head. "No, it's not. You don't understand how much they care for you, do you? Starlight is still a little off about you, but deep down she does care for you. Partly because you mean so much to Twilight."
"Attachment. I was the only one there for her when she needed someone, so she clung right onto me. That doesn't mean she wouldn't leave if she had better options."
"That 'aint right." The phantom said, scooching over to Rex. "She really does care for you. I can see it in her eyes and the way she talks to you. Hell, her mood changes almost instantly whenever you were talking to her or when you were even in the room."
"Believe me- if she-"
"If she what, Rex?" The phantom interrupted. Rex looked at it with confusion in his eyes. It was being authoritative. "You don't understand what I'm spelling out, do you? She loves you, Rex. Seriously- all the signs are there."
"W-What?! Bullshit!"
"Nope."
"That doesn't make sense. I've never noticed any of the signs you're saying she put out- and as far as I know, she never really thought of me like that. If anything I was a teacher, or maybe even a parental guardian considering I had to teach her how to do shit- but not like that!"
The phantom chuckled. "Oh you poor, poor bastard."
"What?!" Rex questioned angrily.
"Who else do you know of would break someone out of a heavily guarded base, going against a fully trained kill agent, a man with psychic powers who is also a sadistic fuck, the rest of the military there, just to save someone. Tell me that they aren't either that person's parents, sibling, or lover."
"I can't be her lover if I don't love her back!"
"And do you?"
"..."
Rex shook his head after a few seconds. "No- no of course I don't! M-Maybe in a friendly, sort of 'oh hey roomie, I love you' type shit but not that! T-There ain't a damn bone in my body that says I love her."
"That's bullshit and you know it. I know it. I've seen your memories- I know exactly what you were thinking in those moments you idiot! You can't lie to me when I've literally seen it play out in my own fucking head!"
"YOU'VE SEEN MY MEMORIES!?"
"YES YOU FUCKING MORON!"
"..."
The phantom sighed, shaking it's head. "Yeah, I've seen your memories. The good ones, the bad ones, the feelings, the sadness and the anger. I was there when it happened- and I have the exact replica of your memories in my own head. I can play it back like a VHS tape. You're lying and you know it and you know that I know it too."
"B-But that shits weird! Perhaps, somewhere, there's a feeling- but isn't that weird? Isn't it-"
"Isn't it fucking weird to live on the fucking Rim? Have you questioned that? A planet where nothing makes sense- everything is trying to kill you- and where people are literally worshiping a tree. Would loving a gal like Twilight really be that strange?"
"YES!"
"How?"
Rex threw his hands up. "I-I don't fucking know- let's see- let's start with the fact that she's not human?! The fact that she has four legs and I have two? The fact that she's literally PURPLE!"
"Ah, so you're a racist."
"What?! NO!"
The phantom shrugged. "I dunno' man. Seems like you're biased to me. I could start listing off everything that is good if you'd like to hear that. I could start with her ta-"
"PLEASE, STOP."
"Alright, alright."
Rex sighed, laying his back onto the white void. "I just... the last thing I need right now is a love interest, you know? I'm literally dying right now, I'm dealing with a psychotic man with mind powers and a pony that breathes fire, and I'm worrying about this? It just isn't priority."
"Alright- alright, I get what you're saying. But when it's not priority, you'll promise to do something?"
"Hell no!"
"Why not?" The phantom asked, cocking its head. "Hell you might say something sooner. We'll see how long it takes for that feeling to well up so strong inside you that it'll burst like a chest-burster from that alien movie. I've seen this happen all too many times- and you're no different from the rest. If there's one thing I'll never understand, it's why is it so hard for mortals to understand love?"
"Mortals? Doesn't that make you a god?"
"I told you already, I'm not a god." The phantom said with a sigh, also laying it's back onto the white void. "Do you have short term memory loss or something? I swore I told you that before. Maybe I'm the one that's going insane- maybe you're in MY head."
"Oh? So now I'm the annoying one? Gee- what should I talk about now?"
It sighed. "You've made your point clear. I'll shut up again."
"No no no- it was just getting fun!"
Twilight stared at Rex's still body, wondering what he was thinking about.
If he was thinking at all, that is. He might just be completely unconscious. She didn't know which one she preferred- on one hand he might be able to hear what she was telling him earlier. Or, perhaps on the flip side of it, he couldn't be able to hear her and was in some sort of pain, forcing to be conscious yet not awake.
She sighed. She couldn't wait for him to wake back up. Whenever that would be, that is. She was trying to stay focused on him actually surviving his circumstances instead of allowing her fears to get ahold of her. It was working.
Somewhat.
"We're going to do so much stuff when you're awake. You've missed out on a lot. Sure, I missed out on a lot too- me being in a coma and all too but hey, we'll be able to do something better than constantly running. We'll deal with Celestia, Tarbo, and anyone that comes in our way."
"A-and then, you'll be able to see my home. It's a big crystal castle- you'll be completely amazed. I could bring you to class and show you around, introduce you to the students-- they'd love to meet you, I already know. You can spend your time doing whatever it is you like doing without constantly worrying about getting killed! Y-You'll be able to be home. My home. With me."
"S-So you've gotta' wake up... We can't do any of that stuff if you don't wake up... I-I know you're under stasis right now, b-but if you could wake up and just... be okay- something at all, better than this that'd be amazing... You've still got so much to see and so much to do- you can't die now!"
"You can't! You've got to keep going! You've got to- how am I going to introduce you to my friends?! Y-You'll love them so much, they'd love you back, it'd be the eight of us! Nine including spike- oh you could meet Spike! He would be in total awe from you and your stories- our stories- and it'd just be like one big family... Y-You could even meet my mom and my dad, and my brother and h-his... his wife..."
"Are you sure you want to do this, Rex? This isn't something you can take back."
"I'm sure of it. Anything is better than dying, right?"
"Not exactly."
I shot upright, my arms being tugged at something beside me. My eye burned when it opened, and my mouth felt extremely dry. Everything was blurry, my hearing was nothing but ringing, and I could feel myself get sick already. I looked down at my arms, seeing the multiple wires connected to them. I ripped all of them off, ignoring the pain as I did so, and tried standing on my feet.
It was difficult, but I was able to do it.
I was in some sort of hospital room from the looks of it. That didn't mean I was safe though. Tarbo could've easily taken us back into custody for more torturing, rape, or whatever hell he had planned for us. I needed to see what was outside that door. I took my first few steps, coughing violently just before I got to the door. I checked the hand that I covered my mouth with, seeing dark, discolored drops of blood on it.
With a shake of my head, I opened the door slowly and stepped out into the open hallway. It looked the same as the room. White tiles, white walls, with signs at the intersections at the ends of the hallways. It didn't look like anything I had ever seen at Tarbo's base, but that wasn't saying much. I took a few steps to the left, trying to see if I could get a better lay of the land.
That's when a female doctor, or atleast what looked like one, turned the corner and saw me. We locked eyes, and she backed up. Her face looked terrified for a moment, even. I opened my mouth to say something but I began coughing again, more blood landing on the floor, and a stinging pain in my chest and heat in my throat.
She bolted down the intersection, yelling what I could only make out as 'Anderson' and 'Situation.'
Great. If this was Tarbo's base, I was about to get one hell of a beating. I forced myself to continue walking slowly. If I was going to get beat into submission, I was going to get a little information out of it. I slowly made it to the intersection the doctor had bolted down, only to see that it was some sort of reception area.
With dozens of people sitting about in chairs, all staring at me.
Some of them were talking, some of them were pointing, and some of them were backing farther away from me. I couldn't hear them very well, nor did I really want to know what they were saying. There could be something hideously wrong with me for all I know, but that wasn't information I was willing to take in right now. A moment later, a couple more doctors appeared at the opposite end of the reception area, all pointing at me, talking to me.
One doctor got real close, putting his hands on my shoulders and slowly pushing me back, as if to guide me back to the room. I refused, stepping forward against his push. He shook his head at me, pointing behind me. I didn't know what he was saying, but I got the idea.
"Fuck off."
My voice was a weird combination of me and... something else. I couldn't tell if it was just my hearing going out of order, or if that's what I really sounded like. The doctors took a step back at that, but kept trying to get me to go back. They were certainly persistent, that was for sure. They weren't getting violent either, to my surprise. I managed to get enough strength to push past them all and properly into the reception area, standing in the middle. The people sitting in their chairs all looked normal.
Civilian clothing, normal faces, and even some children.
Everyone seemed scared of me.
I looked a bit to my left, seeing the doors to outside. I slowly made my way over to it without resistance. The doctors seemed to have stopped fighting against me. As soon as I got close enough to open the doors myself, they opened for me. Some sort of technology based autodoor. I took a step outside, feeling the warmth of the sun on my skin. As much as I enjoyed the feeling, I didn't enjoy the feeling of my eyes going blind.
I put a hand up to block out the sun, looking around at the land. There were buildings, big and small with proper sidewalks. There were tree's dotted against the sidewalks, with people- regular people walking on them. They all seemed like they were doing their own things in their own little worlds.
My hearing was slowly coming back to me. Birds chirping, the sound of conversation in the distance, and laughter.
"Rex."
I turned around so fast that my head felt like it was spinning. I locked eyes with the man who said my name, who was dressed in all white. He was tall, too. Upon seeing me, he looked taken aback. That had happened multiple times, and I was starting to get a little nervous as to why.
He then got back into his posture before. "You look a little different from when I last saw you. No wonder you caused commotion in the hospital upon your awakening."
"Like what." I asked, my voice still a mix between myself and something darker.
"Your eye- but that will be for a different time. I'm Anderson, and-"
"Where's Twilight." I interrupted. "Where's Starlight. Where's Luna." I asked in quick succession.
Anderson raised his hands up in defense. "They are all fine, I assure you. They were the ones who brought you in. Namely Starlight and Luna, as Twilight was in rough shape when you all arrived. I offered them assistance in my city, and that is where you find yourself."
His city? "You own this place?" I gestured with my hand outwards.
He nodded. "Yes, I do. In fact, I gave your friends a place to stay as long as they promised to work. I give people chances, but not without earning it. They've been doing a fantastic job, too. Morale was a bit low when you all arrived, but with their colorful appearances I find my citizens a lot happier."
This all sounded like good news, but I wasn't going to bank on it. "How long have I been here? How long have I been in... stasis or- whatever the hell it is."
Anderson sighed, looking down to the floor before meeting my eyes again. "It only took a little while for Twilight to wake up but you took a little longer. You've been here for a month and a half, and your outlook wasn't so great. I'm surprised you're even standing. They told me they put you into some sort of stasis with their magic since you were being affected by Luciferium. Is that true?"
I nodded.
"Then I'm surprised you're even alive. But- that discussion will be for a later time. Instead, we must focus that you are here, and alive, and able to talk. I understand you put some resistance up to my doctors but they were simply trying to get you back into bed to run some tests. Now that you're awake and out of that magical stasis, they'll be able to perform a real test on you to see how you're doing. A doctor of mine even told me you were coughing up blood."
I nodded. "I was. But I'm fine now."
"Even so, I don't want you falling over and suddenly having a seizure on me, Rex. You've been the mystical man of this place for the past month- and it would terribly upset your friends if your story ended so tragically. Please, accompany me back to your room, and I will discuss things there with you along with the doctors."
I didn't like this- it sounded like they were going to imprison me and laugh about how gullible I was. But I was in no way strong enough to fight against them. It felt like I was bound to fall asleep at any moment- yet I was wide awake. Before I agreed I spoke once more. "I want to see them."
Anderson nodded. "You will, eventually. I want to discuss things in private and have them run a test on you first to make sure that you're okay. I'm sure they will make their way here once the news breaks out but we might have to wait for them to get off work. Their duties are just as important here as their friendship is to you. I'm sure they'd love to explain what they've been up to."
I slowly began walking back to the reception area, Anderson at my side. I turned to him while we walked. "Do you... happen to know a man named-"
"Tarbo?" Anderson interrupted before nodding. "Yes, and he's an enemy. My biggest one. He's sadistic, immoral, and a stain on this planet. One of the reasons that this planet is considered a hellscape beyond imagination. I understand you were all being attacked by him, and that is how you ended up fleeing here. Do not worry, if we ever do get ahold of him, he will pay for his crimes."
I shook my head. "I want to crush his throat between my fingers myself."
That happened to scare a couple of the kids in the reception area as we passed by into the hallway. Anderson looked like he wanted to say something to me, but let it slide anyways. "I understand, but stepping down onto his level will only make us as bad as the Rim itself. We must be more than men. We must be examples of good. How else can we inspire those who are looking up when they're down on the Rim?"
Anderson spoke in such a way that made me feel comfortable. He was intelligent- that much was clear, and he was certainly optimistic. I pushed the door to the room I had found myself in when I awoke open and stepped inside. That was when I saw that there was a mirror in the room, one I had missed when I awoke.
Before I went to go check myself out, Anderson pulled me back to him. "You will look different, my friend. Not horrifying, which you might be thinking of. The guests here in the hospital were just not expecting a human to have eyes such as yours. In fact, there's only one man I know of that has an eye like yours."
I nodded, making my way over to the mirror and staring at myself.
Everything was me. I looked the same if a bit messy in the hair, and my facial hair had definitely grown to a nice beard. Not outwards enough to be considered annoying. My muscles were still intact- something I was quite surprised of, and my overall body looked as I had remembered it, missing finger included. Everything was the same except as Anderson said, my eye.
It was bright purple.
Glowing, almost. The only man that Anderson had seen was Tarbo who had purple eyes. That made sense as to why people were taken aback. Humans weren't known to have purple eyes, and the one man who did have purple eyes was a sadistic psychopath with bloodlust. I tilted my head, staring at my eye still.
It was a surprise, but one that wasn't making me feel uncomfortable. I looked back to Anderson, shrugging. "I suppose that's the only thing that has changed. That, and my voice."
"Oh?" Anderson asked. "I have never heard you speak before- so I'm not sure if there was a difference there. Still, your voice does sound deeper than most, and a little more.. how do I put it..."
"Demonic?"
"Not exactly." Anderson said, gesturing me to sit on the bed. I did so. "People have a misconception that Demons and Angels are different, when they are both protectors of their realms. While the Angels might have fought for the stars, the Demons fought for the earth and below it. That's how I see religion, atleast."
I nodded, my head turning up to the door as two doctors walked in. The female I saw when I woke up, and one that I hadn't seen before. Anderson gestured for me to lay down, which I did. "These are the two doctors that will be running tests on you. Nothing to strenuous I promise. They will take a little bit of your blood, saliva samples, check your eyesight and hearing, things of that nature. And no, you will not need to turn your head and cough."
I chuckled at hearing that. "Thank god."
"The results are nearly immediate with our technology, so once they're done we'll know if you're ready to have visitors and be let out of here. I will be back in a few moments. I need to see what your friends are doing and when I'll be able to inform them of your awakening if you're in proper shape."
With that, I was left alone in a room with two doctors.
I was alive.
"How were the tests?" Anderson asked as he re-entered my room, the two doctor's looking at him with neutral expressions.
"All clear." The female doctor said. "He's got nothing wrong with him- and if he does, it's something we can't detect. Something was a bit strange though."
"Hm? What's that?"
"He's got Luciferium in his bloodstream still. It's active, and flowing, but there's no effects. With how long he's been here, he should be dead, but we're not sure how it's happened. We were curious if the Luciferium was going to have its positive effects without the negative ones, but there's no way to test that without hurting him."
Anderson nodded, pulling a hand up to his chin. "Yes, yes... That wouldn't be so good. Tell me though, doesn't Luciferium do something to blood cells?"
The male doctor nodded. "Yes, though it's a bit strange to explain. The blood cells begin to harden and flow at a faster rate, blood filtration processing faster. Blood cells hardening usually would lead to terrible things, especially at the rate that Luciferium does, but it has no negative effects as long as the user keeps taking it. From what I've seen, you can regenerate limbs with it, but it's a slow and extremely rare process. Not impossible though."
I looked at my hand, the one with the missing finger and smirked. I'd love to have that little thing grow back.
Anderson sighed. "So he's even stranger than we first thought, hm? A man of impossibilities it seems you are, Rex. Whether or not you have Luciferium coursing through your veins, you're all clear according to the Doctors. I'd like you to stay here while I contact your friends."
"They're off work or whatever?" I asked.
Anderson nodded. "Yes, your friend Starlight just got off, and your friend Luna has today off. Twilight should be getting off in about five minutes or so, so within the next thirty minutes I'm sure they'll be here."
"Don't tell them." I said, to which I got a questioning glance from Anderson. "I mean... don't tell them I'm awake. I want them to figure that out when they walk through that door."
The female doctor sighed at hearing that. "If one of your friends passes out from a heart attack, I'm not operating on them. I've already dealt with two patients who've had that happen to them from surprises. Seriously- I never get it with people and surprises."
I shrugged. "Well my friends aren't human. Maybe they'll be more resistant."
She shook her head. "I 'aint no Vet either, so you'll deal with that yourself."
Anderson gestured for both of the doctors to leave, to which they did. "Well Rex, I will contact your friends. I'll be leaving you alone until they get here. For someone who has awoken from being in a coma for a month, you're doing extremely well. I'm certainly impressed by your steel-like attitude."
"Well," I said, splaying my arms outwards. "The Rim teaches quick, doesn't it?"
Anderson nodded. "That it does."
I waited for what seemed like forever. I was nervous. Sure, it didn't feel like a month for me in that white endless void, but for them it had been. A month didn't seem like a long time- but on the Rim it was too long. So many things could change in that span of time, and I wasn't apart of it. Did they even care about me?
What the hell am I thinking- of course they care about me. Luna maybe not, since I had never properly met her, but the other two? Of course! Yet I still find myself feeling nervous, feeling as if the world was moving on without me as if I wasn't important. But, isn't that the truth?
I'm not important.
Story books always interested me, even if I wasn't a huge reading person. The fact that one person could be the center of the universe was... well, always something that interested me. To feel like the main character, or to feel like that you're the person the universe looks after. Yet I realized a long while ago that the Rimworld doesn't care about who's on it, or who think's they're the main character.
I could die and it would only affect a minimal amount of peoples lives. That fact alone hurts, but what hurts more then that is that they don't need me at all. Would Twilight, Starlight and Luna be fine? Of course they would. They might be a little sad but they'll keep pushing on without me. That's a universal instinct, is it not? To keep pushing? I feel like it is. I might just be crazy though. Maybe I've lost my marbles back at Tarbo's lab.
Still, I'm happy that they're all okay.
They've got jobs. Jobs that I don't know anything about- but I'd rather have them tell me themselves. They're working, they've got places to live, and they're certainly doing good out here. From what it sounds like, the town has accepted them as one of their own and that in itself is rare to find out here. I'm glad that they found someplace that will accept them.
The first real amount of kindness bestowed upon them, other than me.
With a sigh, I rested my head on the pillow behind my head. I stared up at the tiled ceiling, mindlessly drifting into random thoughts. The most prominent one was what Twilight and her friends' world looked like. It sounded like paradise to me, and all around too magical for me to comprehend. But it was nice to imagine a world where you could go off hiking and not have to worry about getting eaten by cannibals.
Their technology might be miniscule compared to here, as what Twilight had described to me sounded almost medieval. Though with their magic, they're more advanced than we could ever achieve. Atleast, everything except space-ships. I guess that's one thing we got over them. Yet their world, despite it's lack of technology had surpassed what this world will ever get to. The fact that I came from this universe, experiencing hardship, I was able to get used to this Rim much easier.
Yet, they came from an almost perfect world and had to deal with the floating shit-stain that is the Rim.
That sounds worse than what I went through. Even if they weren't here for as long- and had company, it felt almost wrong to put them through something like that. When you teach a cat to become a housecat, you can't expect it to go off into the street's and know every alley. It wasn't made for that environment- it was made to sit on your lap and look cute.
Huh. Kind of sounds like them, honestly.
God, I've got to stop thinking...
I could hear voices on the other side of the door approaching slowly. My heart rate spiked at hearing the familiar voice of Twilight. I could feel myself almost sweat from the nerves, but I had no idea why. I guess I was just scared at what might be different. Or what they might think of me. Or maybe I'm just blowing this out of proportion.
The door slowly opened, and I saw Twilight looking up at Anderson. "Why are we here? Nothing bad happe-"
We locked eyes.
The three ponies standing in the doorway simply stared at me. Twilight was frozen, while Starlight looked confused. Luna had a neutral expression with a small twinkling of curiosity. I raised my hand up and waved at the three of them, clearing my throat as I did so. "So... I'm not dead after all."
Anderson pushed the three ponies inside with a small shove, and closed the door behind them with a smile and a wink towards me. Twilight was still silent, slowly approaching the right side of my bed whilst Luna and Starlight stayed at the foot of the bed. I watched Twilight carefully, my nerves becoming worse as she got closer.
I was waiting for Twilight to speak, but it wasn't her that spoke first. It was Luna.
"Breaking that spell requires another, and I know of no other creature that has magic other than us."
I nodded. "You're right, it does require another. That other, was in my head."
Luna opened her mouth. "Aah, I almost forgot. The demon."
"Hm? Demon? He said he knew you." I asked, folding my arms.
"He does, but it is not a friendly acquaintance, I assure you."
Twilight put both of her hooves on the side of my bed, looking up at me. She looked like she was about to cry. She then shook her head, closing her eyes hard, before staring back up at me once again. "I didn't know if you were going to wake up. I thought... I just..."
"I'm alive, so let's focus on that." I said, putting my hand on top of her head. "Things have changed, sure. I'm sure you've all noticed?"
"Your eye." Starlight said. "And your voice."
I nodded. "Some sort of side effect that waking up had on me."
Twilight shook her head. "I-I don't understand. How did you wake up?"
I sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "I'm not so sure myself, but that thing inside me kept warning me about the consequences. What might have been a month for you all seemed like an eternity, yet only eight or so minutes in my head. It's hard to explain but he told me that there was a way out, but that I wouldn't go for it. I asked him what it was, eager to get out of that void, and he told me."
"What was it?" Luna asked.
"We merged." I said plainly. "He told me that the consequences could be severe, but that he wasn't able to tell me what might happen. I took the chance anyway, and a moment after he did some sort of... thing, I woke up. The Luciferium in my blood isn't killing me, either, and I retained most of my mass despite not eating proper food for a month. I'm assuming that was from the stasis thing?" I asked Luna.
"The 'stasis' does retain those things, yes. It's not an ordinary coma, but instead a freezing of your current body. Despite how long it has been for us, your body had only aged a few seconds during that 'stasis'."
I nodded. "Then that explains it. Now, my eye? I have no idea how that happened, nor do I know what happened to my voice. Anderson did note that the only other person that had these eyes were his, and our enemy. You all remember, right?"
Twilight nodded. "Tarbo had eyes like that. Purple, glowing. Mystical."
I nodded again. "Either way, I'm still me. A little weak, sure, but I'm fine. Doctors ran tests on me and cleared you all to be able to visit me. In fact, after this visit I'm pretty sure I'm up and out of this hospital."
"Really?" Twilight asked, her ears perking up. "We can show you around! We haven't been here for too long but we've been here long enough to know a few places, right girls?" The two other ponies nodded in unison. I lifted my hand slightly up, my pointer finger outstretched.
"Actually, I heard you all had jobs. I'd like to know more about that? What did you three Mares get? I'm sure Starlight would be perfect for washing dishes." I joked, to which Luna and Twilight began to chuckle lightly whilst Starlight slapped her forehead with a hoof. "What?"
"W-Well," Twilight said between chuckles. "S-Starlight's first job was uh... j-just that, actually."
"Oh your shitting me." I said, a grin spreading on my face. "Starlight was washing dishes?"
"You don't have to keep saying it! That was a terrible bucking week!" Starlight growled. "The owner was nice, yeah but it was horrible! I swear- I thought us ponies ate sloppily but you humans are just... pigs! And not the kind that can talk or are actually nice! Just- disgusting, two legged pigs!"
"I happen to know a pig, and I'm sure she'd be offended to hear that." I said, looking over at Twilight.
"Hey!"
I raised my hand in defense. "Ay ay ay- I didn't say nothing! Must've been a spider or somethin'. Okay so she had to do dishes for a week, what are you doing now Starlight?"
Starlight puffed her chest up as if trying to make up for the embarrassment just moments before. "I happen to work at a chemical facility! I've learned a lot about the different chemicals here on the planet, and I'm an official scientist! Different from my work at home but it's something. And it pays really well too!"
"And you?" I gestured to Luna.
"I am the Military Strategist for the city, specifically Infantry Strategy."
"Woah..." I said, stunned from the answer. "So what, Anderson hired you on?"
Luna nodded. "He was nice enough to offer me the position after I had told him of my previous duties in my world. He was impressed and wanted to see if I could do well, and I succeeded. He has quoted multiple times that I also boost morale in the base by a significant margin, though I do not know why."
I shrugged. "Ponies, and especially a tall one with cool looking hair? I'm not surprised." I then looked over at Twilight. "And what about you?"
Twilight looked around, a bit nervous. "I-It's not as extravagant as theirs."
"Oh come on- I don't give a shit. I want to hear what the purple princess does for a living!"
She sighed. "Okay- okay. I'm... I.."
Starlight spoke for her. "She's a librarian, her old job at home before becoming a princess."
I raised thumbs up at Twilight. "Someone's gotta' keep them people literate, and you're right for the job!"
Twilight shook her head, a small blush on her cheeks. "W-Well the research department also calls upon me for help sometimes! I've actually helped them with a lot of breakthroughs, and have referenced me in a lot of their work! I'm not just a librarian-"
"Twilight you don't have to make yourself sound extravagant." I said, putting my hand back on her head and rubbing the back of her neck softly. "Sure, Luna is a military strategist, but I'm sure her job is a lot of boring 'sitting at a desk doing paperwork' type stuff more than anything else. And Starlight, I'm sure it's extremely dangerous messing with those chemicals, which puts a strain on her." The two ponies nodded as I addressed them.
"And you, Twilight, you're a librarian. I couldn't think of a better job to put you in. You're not a princess here. Neither is Luna, and Starlight isn't a counselor thingy anymore. You're all normal now." I said, looking at the two other ponies as well. "You're experiencing the mundane, day to day life."
Twilight nodded. "As much as I hate being away from home... I'm enjoying going back to my roots." Twilight said quietly.
Luna spoke as well. "Yes, I agree. Leading Equestria was a tough task to handle, and handling troops was not something delegated upon me or my sister upon my return. It's something that I had very much missed."
Starlight shrugged. "Everything is a step up from what I used to be doing way way before, so I'm just happy about that."
"See!" I said, raising my hands. "You all are happy! That's good- and I'm glad you all are happy. And hey- didn't I tell you that you didn't need me?" I said, bumping Twilight lightly with my elbow. That didn't hit her as I thought it did, as she gave me a glare after I said it.
"Rex- I couldn't sleep the first few nights I woke up! I didn't even leave your room for those few days until Luna came back and made up with me before forcing me out of here. Hell, I still don't even know how to feel!"
I chuckled internally at the sound of Twilight saying Hell.
"Well I'm awake now. And I'd love nothing more than to get settled in to a place and get working, whatever that entails for me."
And right on que, Anderson walked in. "Well I'm glad that you're eager, Rex. I'd like to talk with you about that very thing." He said, pulling out a piece of paper with a pen. I waited as he began to write something down. "Now, these three live together in a large apartment at the current moment."
"Oh- maybe I could move out and me and Rex could share a room?" Twilight asked. "I was late to moving in with them, and adding him to the current house would just be way too much room. It's a little awkward as it is now but with two and two, it'll be even."
"I'm sorry Twilight, but we have a rule that opposing sexes are not allowed to share rooms unless they are married. There was a big incident before- and no, I will not tell you what caused it. You can always spend the night at eachother's places, but not continuously. If you neglect your own home, you are liable for it."
Twilight deflated at the news, to which I wondered if I was happy or unhappy with the news of not being able to bunk with her. After all, it had been awhile since I had actually been alone in my own place. "Now, Rex, I'd like to ask you if you have any idea of the work you want to pursue."
I shrugged. "I'm not too good at construction- I mean sure, I built a house and an extension but it took me way too long. I'm not a good researcher or scientist, and I'm basic with my food. I guess the one thing that stands out is that I'm... a good shot? I used to be a bartender years ago on a Tradeship, but I'd rather not go back into that scene."
Anderson nodded. "Well, would you be willing to go out onto the practice range and show your skills off to myself, Luna here, and a few others? If you prove yourself to be useful in that aspect, I'm sure we'd be able to find you a place in that field. If not, you will have to make do with whatever you are handed. As your friends may tell you, I am not willing to give a place to stay and a safe one at that for free. You must do your part in the community."
I understood. "Yeah, I get it. It'd be a pretty shitty way of showing my thanks."
"One last thing I must let you know, Rex." Anderson said after writing a couple more things down. "You are a mysterious man in this city. You are the only human friend that these mystical creatures know, which made you mysterious already. Put on the fact that you were in a coma, and you were rumored to have taken Luciferium and survived, you are an enigma to my people. You might find yourself in uncomfortable positions or social situations."
"What, like stalkers?"
Twilight sighed. "Yeah, actually. I'm pretty sure we've all had one at some point."
"What?!" I asked, surprised and angry. "I'll break their fucking necks-"
"Rex." Anderson interrupted. "While I advise you to not hurt my people and to let the justice system do its work, I am allowing you to use self defense if you need to. Yet, if I hear you have injured any of my people without reason, I will send you to the prison myself." Anderson said in a serious tone, his cheerful and optimistic attitude switching for just a second, before flipping back. "Either way, you will find yourself in some sort of situation. I wanted to warn you before hand."
Starlight smirked. "And that eye isn't helping you. It will certainly attract attention."
"Ooohh~" I said, shaking my shoulders. "Maybe I can find myself a nice girl- oh wait, I've already found three!"
"Sir, we've got confirmation that Rex is out of the hospital." A soldier said as he walked into the throne room, seeing that Tarbo was sitting upon his throne, right beside another newly placed golden throne for the Sun Goddess herself, Daybreaker. Tarbo, hearing this new information, straightened his back out and smiled, whilst Daybreaker was slouched sideways casually on the throne, not a care in the world for 'Princess-like etiquette.'
"Good. Tell them to keep following him- get as much information as we can, but don't risk their necks out. We can't risk them getting caught. If we do get caught, they'll make the screening process much more thorough, and we'll never be able to get another chance. Tell those men that they're doing the kingdom a favor."
The soldier nodded. "Yes, sir."
Daybreaker sighed, rolling her eyes as she looked up at the ceiling. "I don't understand why we couldn't have sent them in to kill that poor thing in the hospital to begin with. It would've been faster."
Tarbo nodded. "Sure, it may have, but it's hard to get into a hospital into a restricted access hallway without being suspicious. We're also not sure on what Rex is capable of anymore, considering what he did to my men, and me. He's a monster for all I care- and we're going to treat him like one; staying far away from him until we find a way to defeat him. Same goes for your sister and the two miscreants there too. Speaking of your sister-"
"We are not talking about her!"
"-what do you plan to do with her? Kill her? Enslave her? Make her come to her senses?" Tarbo said, leaning his arm against the armrest of the throne on her side, letting his face get close to hers. She rolled her eyes and sat up, looking at him with very uninterested and unamused eyes.
"Yes, I plan to kill her. She's too dangerous to be left alive. If I make her come to her senses she might just become Nightmare Moon again, and she would match me in power. I'm a goddess, but I'm not an idiot. Killing her when she's at her weakest is what's best."
Tarbo nodded, a smile on his face slowly appearing. "You're quite the cold-blooded killer, aren't you?"
She smiled back. "You flatter me, but you're the same, are you not? In order for justice to be served, we need to make the hard decisions."
Tarbo nodded again, about to say something before JO-11 opened the doors to the wide throne room. He was holding a small package of Luciferium pills, while his other hand had a rifle leaning on his shoulder. "Tarbo, your next shipment of pills. I also might have snuck in a little something extra- don't ask where I got it."
Tarbo chuckled, standing up to meet the man halfway. "Oh dear boy, breaking the law again?" He said with a smile.
"Maybe. Would you punish me for it?"
"I think we're far past doing anything like that." Tarbo said as he reached for the bag, opening it up to see the familiar red pill, along with a small piece of Ambrosia, a banned substance within the kingdom due to its mythical stories. "Ambrosia! The food of the gods, hm? Who did you find this from?" Tarbo asked as he picked the small piece of gel-like substance and swallowed it with hungry eyes.
JO-11 smiled. "Dealer inside the alley on sixth. You know, west side? He's been making it big and I promised to not bust him if he gave me his best stuff. Consider it a gift from him to you, as a way of saying 'please don't kill me!'"
Tarbo smiled, popping the Luciferium pill into his mouth and swallowing easily. "Well, while the gift was nice, I don't think that I can have drug-dealers in our town. Take care of him for me, won't you? Oh and- tell him it tasted amazing. I'd tell him he should try some himself but, he won't have the chance to will he?"
JO-11 laughed. "No, he certainly won't. Oh- I'm so sorry- Daybreaker, would you have wanted any?" Tarbo turned to look at Daybreaker who simply smiled back at JO-11.
"No, I'm quite fine, thank you."
"Alright. Well, if you ever want any you know where to find me." JO-11 said right before he left the room, leaving Tarbo to walk back to the throne and sit down, feeling much happier than before due to the Ambrosia. He then looked over at Daybreaker, giving her a high-smile.
"You seem to be quite friendly with my guard. Any reason why?"
Daybreaker smirked. "Jealous, are you? He's charming and always nice. He's level-headed and able to hold his own. Unlike you, he actually looks half-decent as well."
Tarbo put a hand over his heart, gasping in fake disbelief. "You hurt me!"
"I'm sorry you couldn't have noticed it earlier, but I thought you would've seen a mirror at least once during your life!" Daybreaker said, playing along with the joke further. Tarbo acted as if he was pierced by a second knife in the chest. "Oh and- let's not forget your hair. It can get quite greasy sometimes."
"I don't have time to shower when I'm trying to figure out battle-plans!"
"Even a princess such as myself can make time for even the most basic of hygiene routines! Which means you, my dear friend, are not royalty!"
Tarbo slouched his back over the other armrest, his body going limp. "You've killed me..."
"Awh. Well, I'll frame your pretty purple eyes somewhere nice. Maybe I'll hang you up on a pedestal somewhere, or stuff you."
Tarbo smirked, sitting back up and letting his arm reach over before flicking her on the nose. "Hey- if you're going to kill me, I want to be at least cool looking. You've got to do it when I'm in my armor!"
"Oh hush- you look fine as you are. You do understand I was joking?"
"Yeah- yeah I know. You look fine too."
"Oh come now- don't tell me you're catching feelings for- what did you say earlier? A 'Cold-blooded killer'? You're better than that aren't you?"
As Tarbo was going to respond he heard the doors open, his head turning over to see who it was. It was JO-11 again, but his helmet was on this time, and his rifle was held in both hands. "Sir, we've got an issue- the Empire is attacking right now!"
Tarbo instantly stood up, his eye's flashing a bright purple for half a second. "What?!"
"We've got civvies holed up in the bunker- Royals are stacked in the bunker underneath the right wing tower. We've already got soldiers up on the front, but half of them aren't even geared yet! We weren't ready!"
Tarbo turned over to Daybreaker who already had her long sword drawn and standing next to him. "Shit.. Get out there and assist the front-lines, I'll be there shortly."
"But sir-"
"If it's the Empire I'm taking some of them out myself! Now get your ass over there!"
"Yes sir!"
Tarbo looked to his left where an armor-rack stood, holding pristine power-armor, an experimental version that his best researchers and crafters have come up with. Tarbo walked over to it, standing in front of it, admiring it's sleek design. It didn't look bulky and powerful like his Poseidon Soldiers, but it was more powerful.
Art by Dominik Dejanović
"You don't really intend to fight them, do you?" Daybreaker asked, standing next to him, admiring the armor as well. "It is beneath us-"
"Nothing is beneath fighting the scum who abandoned me in the first place, Daybreaker. I'll cut their throats myself, or better yet, blast their damned heads off!" Tarbo yelled, pulling the helmet onto his head and opening the panels of the armor one by one to equip. There was already a pistol on the armor-rack as well, the same prototype from before, but heavily modified. "We're going to kill them."
Daybreaker gave him almost sad eyes, something that was strange coming from her. She then nodded, seemingly to notice how upset Tarbo was about the entire situation. In such little time they had bonded closer than she had originally thought, and now she was taking his own emotions into consideration. She didn't have time to really think any more on the subject considering Tarbo was already marching out the door.
She ran to catch up with him. "Might we come up with a solution? A plan of sorts!"
"Oh, now you're all about planning huh? My plan is to kill them- for terrorizing my people, and abandoning me!"
She sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get anywhere with him. With a shake of her head, and an extra flame blossoming in her mane, she looked down the hallway where Tarbo had already travelled down without her. She gave one last look to her blade, and ignited the edges with a bright flame.
It was time to get dirty.
Tarbo looked over the vast landscape that his city had become over the years. It was truly impressive in size- though not nearly as large as Anderson's compound was. And at the far north of it all, the entrance of the city, the Empire came knocking. Soldiers in cataphract armor stormed the front gates, and with only half of Tarbo's soldiers geared for the fight, they were tearing through the forces like butter.
Tarbo clutched his pistol in his right hand, sprinting towards the fight, Daybreaker following behind. As he got closer, he lifted his arm up in front of himself and began to fire a control burst of energy blasts, no recoil coming from the pistol. The blasts had hit the first few cataphract soldiers in the front line, burning through their armor effortlessly but not killing them. Tarbo groaned, sliding into the cover of a destroyed pillar along with two of his own soldiers.
"Sir- they've got toughskin glands!"
Tarbo groaned even louder. "Damnit!"
Even though it had just begun, his entire kingdom was due to fall from this single attack. It was perfectly timed, and with how many soldiers that the Empire had to spare, they were going to be crushed just from that alone. Tarbo closed his eyes deep, focusing on his Psychic Amplifier and releasing the Neural-Heat limit.
It was going to hurt, but it was the only way to keep the Empire at bay.
As he looked over the pillar, he saw Daybreaker slicing through the soldiers in the front-line with ease, her sword obviously being modified with some magical capabilities. A trail of fire was left in each swing, and she occasionally flapped her wings and briefly took to the air, spewing a line of fire from her mouth like a dragon would in mythological tales. He smiled underneath the helmet, watching her movements with interest.
Yet he couldn't watch her for a moment longer. Cataphract soldiers were storming in by the dozens as each second passed- this was obviously a big push from the Empire. Anderson must have contacted them and paid them off- that or they got lucky. It didn't matter- soon they would all be gone.
Tarbo leaped over the pillar and ran in front of his soldiers, his armor taking dozens of blasts from kinetic weaponry and laser weaponry, his visor cracking. It wasn't designed to take this much damage- something that would soon be remedied. Tarbo focused with his eyes closed, the entire area in front of him shimmering lightly with a purple hue. Suddenly, most of the front-line cataphract soldiers were lifted into the air, their arms thrashing as they were choked by some invisible power. Tarbo then opened his eyes a second later- their helmets, and their heads along with it, being crushed into nothingness. It had only been the front-line, and there was still a second incoming wave, but he was hopeful that it would make the others hesitate.
Daybreaker watched from the sky, smiling to herself. She was always impressed at how powerful Tarbo could be at times, but knew that it came with severe consequences. The first time she saw the effects of Neural-Heat she could feel the burn coming off of him, smoke coming out of his own eyes. His kingdom definitely meant something to him, as did her own.
Tarbo winced from the almost instant migraine accumulated from the action he just did- his face already heating up along with the rest of his body. With an illegally modified level twenty Psychic Amplifier, the effects were going to be much more severe. It was the price to be paid for being able to wield such a power. As the second wave pushed in, they were much slower than their first wave.
"That was fucking impressive!" Tarbo heard JO-11 shout from the left-side, prompting him to turn to him.
"Where were you?" He asked.
"Escorting some royals from the front- but I'm here now. What do you need me to do?"
Tarbo smiled underneath the cracked helmet. "I need you to wipe them out, brutally, if you don't mind."
JO-11 cracked his knuckles as best he could underneath the armored gloves he wore. With JO-11 wearing his own Cataphract armor, he was as powerful as them, the only difference being his was modified.
Heavily.
JO-11 opened a small screen on his wrist and pressed a black button, prompting a bunch of spikes to protrude from his armor. Another button was pressed, and a black steel-like material coated over his own armor. A Toughskin gland sort of modification, but for armor. With his new spikey appearance enabled, he clutched his rifle within his hands and ran towards the enemies head on, jumping over the dozens of dead bodies with crushed heads.
JO-11 was Tarbo's best guard for the fact that he was compliant, and in combat, a dangerous monster. With a Psychic Amplifier he could've been the most terrifying presence of the planet- the main reason as to why Tarbo had refused to give him one in the first place.
Daybreaker landed next to Tarbo, shaking her head. "You're going to burn yourself again if you continue."
Tarbo didn't stop watching the combat. "I know. Consider it me repenting for the sins I will commit today."
Only the Lord knew how many he was going to commit.
Cadance sighed heavily, slowly getting off the throne that Celestia herself had occupied for many years. Despite how long she used it, it seemed she hadn't improved the comfort of sitting in it for hours- something that over the course of a couple days was becoming apparent to Cadance.
She slowly made her way into the hallway, her husband Shining Armor down the hallway walking towards her. He gave her a smile, but she could not reciprocate. His own smile fell after he didn't get one back, and once he got to her he nuzzled her neck softly. "Still bad?"
"Worse, even." Cadance said with another sigh. "I don't understand why they would blindly leave so quickly! Luna I can get- I barely know her, but Celestia? It's as if she was brainwashed. They didn't even set up a second in command, something even we have."
Shining sighed. "I-I know. If I knew that they were planning on going after Twilight I-I would've-"
"Stop." Cadance said, putting her hoof onto his muzzle. "Don't talk about Twilight. They can bring her back- you know they can. She's probably fine. Maybe she got teleported to a land of chocolate and she's eating her heart out- Discord would love that."
Despite his wife feigning to be happy, he wasn't swayed. "Or she got teleported to a land full of disgusting creatures- or burnt to death in a volcano!"
"Willing negativity into the air like that is when those things become true. Stop thinking about those things, alright?"
He nodded hesitantly. "Y-Yeah, yeah... You're right, like usual. I just- I just can't believe they wouldn't have told me about it. You think they would've atleast like to have told the brother of Twilight if they were going to rescue her on their own!"
Cadance smirked. "And if they did, you would've gone with."
"Y-Yeah!- wait- damnit!"
Cadance shook her head. "They'll be fine out there, okay? I understand that it's hard to think about that when she's been gone for so long, but harmony is a universal concept. If it weren't, our land would've fell thousands of years ago. Instead we've prevailed- and even in other timelines, that concept rings true. No matter where she's gone to, she will find somepony to hold onto. The universe isn't evil, Shining."
"That's hard to imagine considering it took my sister."
"Let's get something to eat, okay? Does that sound good? Besides- I need a chair with actual padding. My back hurts."
"Y-Yeah, babe. Whatever you say."
Tarbo stared at the multitude of dead bodies that laid on the floor. Some with their heads crushed, others with slash wounds and bullet holes littered all over them. Tarbo had taken off his helmet, steam flowing from his eyes, nose, mouth and ears, a side effect from the overclocking of his Psychic Amplifier. The siege had stopped once and for all, but not before decimating nearly the entire kingdom during it. Multiple royals were dead, dozens of civilians were as well, with plenty of soldiers, enemy and friendly alike, with their blood splattered on the floor.
Despite this, Tarbo was smiling. This was an ordinary day on the Rim. In all of his years he knew only one thing about the Rimworld. That it would destroy you if you let it, and that it didn't care for who survived its brutal attacks. Whilst most parents on other planets would spout to their children about how the world didn't care if they failed or succeed, the Rimworld only saw to it that you failed no matter what.
With underlings, friends, and servants of his dead across his entire kingdom, he knew that he didn't have much time to make a choice. He turned around, heading back to the throne room, passing by Daybreaker without a word. She didn't say a word to him either, simply following him with her eyes.
Within a couple of minutes of walking, he had made it into the main building. The combination of Cataphract soldiers, advanced shield-bubbles, and advanced missile technology, it was surprising that the main building even stood. As he walked up the small steps up to the throne, he looked at his busted helmet. He shook his head, a smile still on his face. He took a seat upon his throne, staring at JO-11 who had just entered.
He threw the helmet at JO-11's feet, shaking his head. "This armor, it's weak. It busted within a couple of shots. Take out the old Phoenix armor out of deep storage and bring it to me."
JO-11 immediately shook his head. "Sir- you know that model of the Phoenix armor, however powerful it may be, will kill you! The last time you wore it, it nearly paralyzed you! The energy coursing within the suit is too much- it'll crush your bones with the kinetic force-"
"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!" Tarbo yelled while slamming his fist down on the arm-rest of the throne. "Bring the damn thing out. Tell the few remaining engineers in the pilot's wing to ready up the best aircraft we got, and radio the insiders at Anderson's city to stir shit up. I don't give a shit if they die- tell them it's for the best of the kingdom. Don't tell them what happened here. A little bit of terrorism will stir shit up nicely."
JO-11 knew he couldn't argue with Tarbo, but it sounded like suicide. He reluctantly nodded and turned around, passing by Daybreaker who was slowly entering the throne room, eyeing Tarbo whilst she entered. She looked down at the busted helmet on the floor and then back to him. "What are you planning?"
"The empire is knocking on our doorstep. We can't survive another attack from them. You want your 'student' and her friend back, right? And to get revenge on your bitch of a sister? We make a move, right now. We don't have a military to back us up this time, but with some experimental technology I've acquired over the years, I'm sure we'd stand a formidable chance."
Daybreaker shook her head. "I only agree'd to sieging that fortress when we had an army. Without one? It's suicide, Tarbo."
He nodded. "It might be, but if we can get your student and her friend, you can go back home, correct? You're the one with the link back to your homeworld, not your sister or anybody else for that matter. We'd be able to escape right back home, and we could live happily ever after. But it's now, or never."
Daybreaker sighed, thinking over his words. It was true- as soon as she had Twilight and Starlight back, and hopefully kill her sister, she'd be able to return home with a single cast of a spell. It was genius to only have her have access to the portal-link, something that was an accident but turned out to be extremely helpful. Yet she couldn't risk bringing any more soldiers here- she'd already had to execute her own soldiers who accompanied her for disobeying.
Tragic, really.
"Fine, but if we do this, it's all or nothing."
"Believe me darling, I know. We need to speed things up however, and this is our last chance. We'll come back later to wipe out the empire. Now, let's get to planning, shall we?"
Anderson stared out the window of a large tower, one of the tallest within the walls. Standing next to him was Luna, who was overlooking the city. Anderson looked at her for a moment, before turning back to the city. "I never thought I'd get this far. Sometimes I feel as if everything here could come crashing down- which it most likely will at some point. But it still doesn't cease to amaze me that even with a world this destructive, for whatever reason, I was able to surpass."
Luna nodded. "It is remarkable indeed."
"Oh hush now," Anderson chuckled. "You don't have to pander to my feelings. You've told me about your kingdom, how magnificent it was and how much gold you all have. We might have enough gold to make the bands for our cigars, but not enough to deck every street with it."
Luna smirked. "The amount of gold within our world compared to yours is much higher, therefore its value isn't as high as it is here. Though things like iron are much rarer in our world than here. Silver seems to be the same, however."
Anderson nodded his head, turning around and picking up a cigar from a small box, pulling out the large butane lighter and lightly puffing the cigar while the lighter lit the end up. Within a few seconds and a few rolls of the cigar, he puffed out a large cloud of smoke. He then admired the cigar for a moment before staring back out. "You should try one of these sometime. It's not like a cigarettes- you don't inhale the smoke. Unless, you want to puke. It's mainly for the flavor. Smoking a cigar is an art in itself, Luna."
"And yet all I smell is tobacco." Luna said with a slightly scrunched up muzzle.
"Pfft. You get used to it. Believe me- if I were to crush this like a cigarette you would definitely smell the tobacco. Becomes sour-smelling almost. I tell you, it's one of the-"
"ANDERSON!"
Anderson was caught off guard from the yell from Luna, and stared at her for a moment. She was staring right out of the window. He followed her vision and saw far down below in his city, an explosion had erupted. Nearly one fourth of an entire district was in flames. A moment later, the sound managed to travel to the building, resulting in an ear-deafening boom.
Suddenly, Anderson's radio that was left on the table started buzzing with feed. He immediately reached for it and opened the channel up. "What in the HELL is going on?!"
"Reports say someone ran into the chemfuel factory with explosives strapped to them- took out the entire factory and travelled through the sewers! Multiple gas-leaks within the area combined with it and took out a huge chunk of C-District!"
"What?! How in the hell was there a suicide bombing and gas-leaks all at the same time?!"
"It was planned, sir! We need to initiate lockdown- we're under attack!"
I sat down on the floor of my apartment, holding the new radio I had just been given from Anderson himself. He said my work with their guns was beyond top notch, and he wanted me on the guard force. He said I wasn't going to start yet, but he gave me some equipment to get it over with so he didn't have to later.
I looked around my new lonesome apartment, seeing how empty it was. There was no furniture at all, and it was pretty small, but it was enough room for myself. I could make do with what I had here, and with enough income I'd be able to get all sorts of stuff! Though I admit it felt weird that I was going to be working for a wage again. I hadn't done that since I was on the trade-ship, and that seemed like it was ages ago.
In all reality, it was, atleast in Rimworld years.
Yet it was a safe, stable life. I knew some people back on the ship that hated working 9-5 jobs, and so did I at a point if it weren't for the entertaining customers and the cute girl I worked with. Yet surviving on this hellhole certainly proved to me that there are worse fates than working a simple eight hours. I was just happy that I didn't have to eat that pemmican shit, or deal with the worlds worst fucking electrical grid at my house always breaking down.
Sure, some things had changed. For one, I lost an eye, and my other eye is now purple. Oh, to add onto that, while I showed Anderson my skills at the shooting range, something else other than me was guiding my hand. It was as if my arm was going on instinct alone, and it hit dead-shots each time. My arm would shoot up in the exact position in needed to in order to hit a killing blow.
Sure, I'd normally say that was cool, but given the circumstances of having some sort of being inside of me, it was not. Speaking of that... thing, I hadn't heard it since I woke up. I tried speaking to it in private when I was alone but there was still no response. Maybe I did merge with it and I also gained its consciousness?
Shit, it didn't make sense either way. It was like some sort of omnipotent demon thing. I just hope I don't turn into some sort of monster and start eating people. That'd be weird, right?
I was about to stand up when a deafening sound came from outside, shaking my entire building and causing a light-panel from the ceiling to land right next to me. I immediately stood up and opened my door, looking outside. My apartment was on the second story, and I peered over the railing to the right, looking off into the distance. Smoke was rising over some buildings, and it seemed a few of them had caught on fire.
Suddenly, my radio began to scream.
"What in the HELL is going on?!" I heard Anderson scream on the radio, to which he got a reply not a moment after.
"Reports say someone ran into the chemfuel factory with explosives strapped to them- took out the entire factory and travelled through the sewers! Multiple gas-leaks within the area combined with it and took out a huge chunk of C-District!"
I kept staring at the scene of burning buildings in front of me, my ears straining from the loud crashing sounds that came from the decaying buildings.
"What?! How in the hell was there a suicide bombing and gas-leaks all at the same time?!" Anderson yelled.
"It was planned, sir! We need to initiate lockdown- we're under attack!"
I stared down at my radio before looking up at the scene once again. Under attack? No- Anderson's little kingdom here didn't have any enemies besides Tarbo, and he wouldn't attack yet, would he? I turned to the stairs and immediately descended them, watching the couple hundred people that exited their houses to watch the scene unfold gasp in shock.
I got in the middle of the small courtyard that laid in front of all of the apartments, and began to yell.
"All of you, get back in your homes! We are going into lockdown- we are under attack! Do not open your door unless you are shown identification of an official, or a guard!" I watched for a few seconds at their reactions, and they immediately obeyed at my command. I guess I was a little more scary, atleast that's what Luna had told me.
She hardly knew me anyways, what did she know?
I turned back to the scene and began to sprint towards it, bringing the radio up to my mouth. "Anderson- i'm near the scene right now, what do you want me to do?"
"Rex do not enter that scene! If there's gasleaks there is bound to be more trouble in that district- tell the citizens to stay where they are at. You need to get your ass over to the Guards office immediately and pick yourself up a weapon- and do it fast!"
"Already got the citizen thing under control, heading to the office now!" I yelled over the radio, turning right around and running through the small courtyard I was just in. There was no citizen in sight now, but it did seem a little odd to me. If Anderson was expecting more trouble, why did he force everyone to stay indoors?
Isn't there a evacuation plan?
Thankfully the nearest Guard office was close and I made it there within the minute, sprinting through the door by bashing it open with my shoulder. The front-desk lady stared at me, and I looked around the room. "I need a gun, I was instructed by-"
"We know- the rest of the guards are in the back getting suited up." The lady said without hesitation, pointing to the door on the right. I nodded to her and opened it, seeing about a dozen guards getting suited up in much more combat appropriate gear.
I didn't announce myself but the guards knew I was there. "New guy- grab a set on your left. We don't got any more body armor or the likes of anything like that, but it's a rifle."
Guess they took all the good shit.
I looked at the gear that laid in front of me and began to feel my heart race. The rifle wasn't all that, it being a basic wooden hunting rifle. Yet the pistol was what I was the most excited for. A pure-silver handcannon revolver. No wonder the other guys didn't take it- it was extremely difficult to use and not practical at all. Yet I got near-perfect shots every time with it in the range just earlier.
I picked up the rifle and slung it onto my pack, keeping the pistol in my hand. I noticed that there weren't any bullets for the two weapons, and one of the guards seemed to pick up on my confusion. "They make you shoot with bullet at the range, but our actual combat gear doesn't have any bullets. All energy based."
Fuck yeah.
I pulled the radio up to my face again. "I've got my shit now Anderson, what now?"
"Meet me at the capital building, south of we-AH SHIT!" A loud crashing noise came from the radio. "Fuck- Luna!"
After that, radio silence.
"Anderson? Anderson can you hear me? Anderson! Shit-" Without wasting another second I bolted right out of the Guard office and ran straight for the capital building, only to stop in my tracks a second later to hear the sound of gunshots and screams. Coming straight from the courtyard ahead.
I ran to the gunshots before taking cover behind one of the benches, concealing me only a little bit but enough to work in my favor. There was some sort of gunman in the courtyard shooting at anyone passing by. Three dead bodies around him, and bullet holes in some of the doors.
Either this was a combatant that was attacking us, or some crazed lunatic taking advantage of the situation.
"C'mon, let me in! You know you want to- come on- come on!" The man yelled as he began to charge furiously at a door over and over again, slowly breaking it down. A scream came each time he banged on the door from the other side, and I knew that I didn't have time to react. I slung the rifle back into my hands, holstering the handcannon and let whatever being take control of me.
My arms extended out in front of me instinctively, forcing my head down and my eyes to aim through the ironsights before pulling the trigger a second later. My legs began to move on their own towards the man who fell, and I didn't even know where I hit him. It was only a few seconds before I was standing over his body that was shaking, and it seemed he was still alive.
My body forced my arms to sling the rifle onto my back and pull out my handcannon, aiming it at the man on the floor who was currently moaning in pain. I tried to stop my own body from doing it- I didn't want to kill him, I needed to take him in!
Yet my body wasn't listening, and I began to speak.
"What's your name."
"Hnnnnn.... Hnnmmmm- my stomach.. my stomach!"
"What's your name!" I said again, though it wasn't me speaking.
"Hnmm... M-Michael..."
"Thank you. I'll remember to forget it." My finger squeezed the trigger and a round went off, though it didn't go through his head. No, it went through his throat, causing him to clutch his throat and shake in agony. The only noises that came from him were the gurgles of him choking on his own blood.
Without checking the bodies on the floor around him, my legs began to move without me and forced me to run to the Capital building. "What in the fuck- what-!" I tried to process what just happened and how I managed to do all of that without me actually doing it, but I didn't have time.
I needed to get to the Capital building and get to Anderson. Twilight and the rest are probably safe near a guards office- they weren't near my apartment nor the district that had been bombed, so they should be just fine. As I looked up at the tall Capital building a bit of ways in the distance, I could see that smoke came from the top of it.
And lodged inside the top of the tower was a ship.
FIVE MINUTES PRIOR
Anderson was knocked onto his feet from some sort of blast, and he was sent flying across the room, causing his back to hit the wall. It had little effect on him though, but he could see Luna sprawled out on the floor in front of him, one of her legs bleeding. "Fuck- LUNA!" He dropped the radio. "Luna- you alright?!" He asked, bending down to aid her.
"Yes- yes, I am okay. My leg is just a little injured."
"Awh- I was hoping to do a little more damage than 'a little injured.'" Another voice spoke, causing both Luna and Anderson to look up. In front of them, and where a big chunk of the window used to be, was a ship, lodged into the building. Standing in front of it was Tarbo in his Phoenix suit, and Daybreaker.
"You fuck. You dare attack my city?! My PEOPLE?!"
"Now now Anderson, it's not that big of a deal. People die everyday on the Rim, does it really make a difference if it's yours, or someone elses? Look, we don't want much. In fact, I'm quite done with our little game between us Anderson. All you need to give us, is your blue friend in front of you, and all of the other colorful creatures that happen to be living within your walls. Oh, and that bastard Rex, yes."
Anderson helped Luna onto her feet, who was now in a fighting stance right next to him. Anderson reached into his jacket and pulled out a small, pure white handgun with his own name scribbled onto the metal. "You just killed hundreds of my people, and you think I'd just go along with your bullshit? I've dealt with you too long to know that you're a piece of shit liar."
"Sister!" Luna cried towards her sister. "Sister- you are not thinking straightly. Something has plagued your mind- something has taken your body over! Do not let it-"
"SILENCE!" Daybreaker yelled, pointing her fiery blade towards her own sister. "You've been a nuisance since you've came back, and I made a mistake by banishing you to the moon. I should've killed you right then and there myself, but my old self was too scared to do so. Filled with morality, causing her to be weak. I will not make that same mistake with you again, Luna."
Anderson shook his head. "That 'aint your sister no more, Luna."
Luna nodded. "I know."
Tarbo simply walked around the room for a little bit, all four of them too nervous to attack first. "You've certainly got a whore of a sister, Miss Daybreaker. She slept her way right up to the top, as it says right here that she is the 'Military Strategist' hm?"
"She was always too eager to sleep with the guards, I must say." Daybreaker said with her teeth showing through her smile, causing Luna to growl more. "You act like a slut, you look like a slut, and you talk like a slut. I've heard your nightly adventures."
Anderson smirked. "Says the one fucking a literal Hitler. But you wouldn't know who that is, would you? Here's something you should've probably learned a long time ago, Daybreaker." Anderson said whilst stepping one foot forward. "Humans are known to be the most cruel species in the universe. We are the ultimate embodiment of evil. Whatever you think you can do, is nothing compared to what we have done and will do."
"So you claim to be evil?" Daybreaker questioned, her nose up high.
"Not in the slightest, but that we are the embodiment of evil. Our species is known to eradicate entire planets because they are simply in the way. I've heard of your world Daybreaker, and all that sunshine and rainbow bullshit won't fly here!"
Tarbo sat on the wooden desk that sat in the middle of the room. "Oh? I quite like all of the 'sunshine and rainbow bullshit' personally, which is why after we're done here, me and Daybreaker will be returning to her world."
That seemed to cause Luna to shift. "No... No- you wouldn't, Sister! He's evil- he'd tear our entire nation apart!"
"Like it doesn't need to be tore apart already?!" Daybreaker said, swinging her sword violently in the air. "It's filled with idiots who don't agree with me, filled with servants who can't do their jobs, and filled with stains of you, which I will personally erase myself! This time, you won't just be a foals tale, you will be nothing. You will not be remembered, and I will make sure that it happens."
"Alright, I'm sick of this shit!" Anderson said, pulling his right foot back. "You two didn't come here to just sit around and talk. You came to kill me and Luna, so how about we start this shit and get this over with?"
"Ah but, dear Anderson, the longer we stall, the more I win. While you were here arguing with Miss Daybreaker about the dumbest things, my men have been cleansing your streets, including a particular character in a daycare."
That caused Anderson to shout and lunge at Tarbo at an insanely fast speed, yet Tarbo dodged right out of the way. "You still got that old Psylink in your brain too, eh? This'll be fun!" Tarbo said, pulling his arm back for a punch, yet Anderson shot his hand up and grabbed him by the throat and threw him at a wall.
While the battle between the two humans were happening, Daybreaker and Luna were still staring at eachother. Daybreaker twirled her sword fancily, smiling at her sister. "You look a little upset, Luna. Tell me why that might be."
"You helped him massacre little ones, Sister. How... How could you do that?!"
"Oh shut it- you'll get over it soon enough. Will six feet of dirt suffice?" She asked before lunging her sword towards her sister, causing Luna to jump back and fire off an ice spell, diluting the flames of Daybreaker's sword. Daybreaker didn't let up however, and continued to charge at her sister, slicing her sword whichever way her sister dodged, yet not hitting a single blow.
Tarbo during this time had gotten the upper hand over Anderson, and had gotten him onto the floor, driving his fists into his face. "You never fucking listened- I gave you a deal and you refused! You could've been my teammate Anderson, but here we ar-" A gunshot went off, and Tarbo looked down at Anderson's hand. Anderson was holding his pistol at Tarbo's stomach, and he fired off another shot. It didn't pierce, but Tarbo felt the pain and forced both of Andersons arms at his sides. "You fucking-"
"-That might not have hurt, but this will!" Anderson said as his own eyes began to shift into all white, and an electric shock forced Tarbo into the air and towards the furthest wall. Anderson clambered up to his feet and aimed his pistol at Tarbo, who was shaking in pain.
Once the electricity stopped flowing, Tarbo began to laugh, shaking his shoulders. "Ahh, learned a new one, eh? Or did you just get your hands on a Psytrainer? Doesn't matter, I guess I'll show you MINE!" He yelled, throwing his hand forward and grabbing Anderson telekinetically and throwing him through the middle desk, and then at the wall. He then unholstered his own pistol and began to charge it up by holding the trigger down. "You're going to feel this one, Anderson!"
Anderson felt dazed from the slam and hit the floor a moment after. He stared up towards Luna and Daybreaker who were both currently flying around the room, Daybreaker swinging her sword viciously but without strategy at her sister. Anderson aimed up with his pistol and fired off a shot at Daybreaker, striking her in the wing and causing her to falter and hit the wall.
Anderson then looked back at Tarbo and saw it was already too late. The charge shot was fired, and Anderson was just barely able to force it away with a psy-push, using the air to fling it back at Tarbo who swiftly dodged out of its way. "You lucky son of a bitch- fine, I'll do it myself! This thing was a failed project anyways." He said, throwing the pistol to the side before descending on top of Anderson who couldn't get his pistol up in time.
Luna stared at her sister who was staring at her wing that now had a bullet hole in it. "Sister- please, listen to me. This isn't you- you have friends! You have me, Twilight- your faithful student! Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Starlight Glimmer, Shining Armor, Cadance, even Blueblood-... perhaps. Your guards respected you and loved you, so come back to us, Celestia!"
Daybreaker's eyes began to falter, and her form seemed to shift slightly, but she entered back into an attacking stance and lunged at her sister, who fired a beam of pure magic at her own sister, causing her to hit the wall behind her with a loud smack. "These walls are tough..." Luna commented to herself.
Daybreaker slowly got up to her hooves and stared at her sister with an anger that rivaled her own self when she was Nightmare Moon. Yet instead of attacking her once again, Daybreaker simply stared outside the small chunk of broken window on her right and down at the town.
Luna knew this was the right moment. "Look Sister. You've hurt these people, these humans. They were normal, and just trying to live their lives. You can still bounce back from this dear Sister, I know you ca-"
Daybreaker's horn charged up with a yellow flare and sent a beam of pure fire magic, fueled by her hatred for her sister, disintegrating entire buildings that were in its way. Luna charged at Daybreaker and tackled her onto the ground, sending a dazing blast at point-blank range at her sisters head. It did little to quell the problem.
Luna's eyes were searching her Sisters, trying to find some sort of resemblance of her old self, until her thoughts were disrupted by the door being kicked in.
Rex entered the room, and with an extremely angry scowl on his face. He aimed his handcannon at Tarbo who was sitting on top of Anderson and repeatedly beating him, and fired multiple shots at increasingly closer ranges as he walked forward. Tarbo was pushed to the wall and covered himself with his hands cowardly even though none of the shots pierced. Anderson climbed on his knee's behind Rex, slowly bracing himself upwards with the help of the wall.
Tarbo peeked through his hands once Rex stopped firing and smiled behind his helmet. "Oh dear Rex, you've shown yourself! I was hoping you would- and might I add, you look just like me! I told you we were more alike than you once thought."
Rex shook his head. "We are nothing alike. You made me like this Tarbo. After that fucked up experiment of yours- you made me like THIS! Now I've got a fucking demon inside of me, all because of you."
"What are you talking about Dear Rex?"
"It doesn't matter. Never did, never will. But your little reign of bullshit is DONE!"
"Rex!"
Rex immediately turned around to find the face of both Twilight and Starlight Glimmer. "Wh- what the hell are you two doing here?!"
"Gotcha." Tarbo said, and within an instant of the two ponies appearing, they were gone, and Rex could feel his back sting, his knee's giving out, and his body hitting the floor. "Oh come on Rex- you've got to have known that was a trick! Illusions! The most advanced Psypower, or atleast one of them. You're so easy to fool, Rex." Rex felt around his back and felt a knife lodged inside it, and then to feel his body get dragged by Tarbo's telekinesis.
Anderson was still trying to get up after the extreme face-beating, and Luna was busy yelling at her own sister who was simply staring at her, dead in the eyes. Rex was brought to the edge of the window, or where there used to be one. Tarbo stared at him, standing only a foot away from Rex himself. "It's time to end you, Rex, and I think falling to your death will be a painful enough experience for you that you'll remember it in the afterlife. So, goodbye Rex. And may that 'monster' of yours be put to rest as well, you ungodly thing."
Before Tarbo could react though, right before he sent Rex flying off the edge of the window with a psypush Rex had grabbed onto him as well, causing them both to be sent flying off the building that was hundreds and hundreds of feet in the air. Tarbo yelled, holding onto Rex and bashing his face in with his fist. "You idiot! You've killed us both- what has that accomplished?! We're going to-"
Tarbo was pulled from Rex by Daybreaker, who had swung down with her bloodied wing and picked him up, causing Rex to fall the rest of the way down by himself. Rex simply stared up ahead and closed his eyes, before his body tensed up entirely and he hit the floor.
Luna stared over the edge with tears in her eyes, whilst Anderson slowly walked to the edge. "That damn bastard got saved. This fucking plane-"
"Luna? Anderson! What happened?!" Anderson and Luna turned their attention to the door, where there was indeed the real Twilight and Starlight Glimmer.
"A fight happened, and I'm afraid that... Rex was-"
"No- no no no!" Twilight tried looking over the edge but Anderson stood in front of her. "MOVE!" She said, forcing his already weak body to the side and staring at the edge. She kept staring, scanning the landscape. "I... I... Did Rex fall?"
Luna, with her eyes closed, nodded.
"Then... Then where is he?"
Anderson stared over the edge, and looked at where Rex was. Or, should've been, as his body was now gone.
Daybreaker dropped Tarbo on his feet on the floor before landing in front of him, staring at her bloody wing. Tarbo stared up at the sky and wiped his helmet off, smirking behind it. "Phew... If you weren't there, I'd be dead! Thankfully I've got the best alicorn in the entire universe at my side."
"This wasn't according to plan!" She yelled at him, causing him to flinch.
"What are you..."
"It wasn't supposed to be this difficult! I was supposed to grab Twilight and Starlight Glimmer and kill that wretched bitch of a sister, that's what you said, right?!" Tarbo nodded, staring at an emotionally distressed Daybreaker. "And it was supposed to be easier than this! My wing- my damned wing! And why am I feeling sorry for my sister?! I-I don't understand Tarbo, it wasn't supposed to be like this!"
Tarbo immediately stepped forward and put a hand on her neck, but she shoved him away. "Dear- Dear don't be thinking about such things. Your sister is definitely a wretched being, and we can find Twilight and Starlight in this city in no time and be out of here! To return to your world and make things right! Come on- we can't give up now. You're my only hope, Daybreaker."
"SISTER!"
Tarbo and Daybreaker turned to look at Luna, who was sprinting at them, while Anderson, Twilight, and Starlight Glimmer all struggled to keep up before stopping at a moderate distance away. Upon seeing Twilight and Starlight, Daybreaker's eyes began to widen. "L-Luna.."
"Daybreaker, NO! We must go- come on! We have to leave!" Tarbo insisted, staring at Daybreaker before pulling off his helmet. "Daybreaker- look, look! It's me- okay? It's me, let's get out of here! You trust me, right? Please, Come ON!"
"Celestia don't do this!" Twilight yelled, causing Daybreaker to flinch at the name. "P-Please! There's already been enough destruction, this isn't you! You aren't the person I know- you aren't Celestia right now! We loved you, Celestia, please!"
"Daybreaker, DON'T!"
Daybreaker slowly walked forward towards Luna and the rest of them, while Tarbo simply watched. She then turned back to Tarbo and shook her head. "I-I'm sorry, Tarbo. I-... I.." A moment later, and a blinding flash of light as well, Daybreaker was no more. Instead, standing in her place was Celestia, with her wing still bloodied and tears streaming from her face. She collapsed onto the floor, causing Luna to stand over her and hold her with her hooves.
Tarbo slowly back up, his face a little swollen from the impacts of being thrown around, though much less than Anderson. He wiped his face with his fore-arm and sniffed. "So... So that's it, huh? That's it?! All of this- all of this fighting, planning, for NOTHING?! I captured them, captured Rex and Twilight and Starlight- only for them to ruin me?! Was it all for nothing?! This whole.. thing?!"
"Yes."
The answer came from behind him, causing him to turn and feel the barrel of a revolver at his head.
"Rex.."
"Tarbo."
"You'll always be a monster. Killing me won't make you feel any better. One monster killing another doesn't make you less of one. Killing me doesn't stop the fact of what you did to my men. How you unhinged your jaw and ate my men like a beast. You're an ungodly creature, and he would've condemned you."
Rex sighed.
"I know."
BANG
Tarbo dropped to the floor, dead, his head leaking blood on the floor. Rex stared down at his body and smirked, while Anderson slowly walked towards him. Twilight and Starlight were busy helping Luna with Celestia. Anderson put a hand on Rex's shoulder, staring down at the body with him. "Do you know what you just did?"
"Yeah. I do."
"It's over. You ended it yourself, Rex. Your first damned day awake, and you ended it."
Rex looked up at the sky, feeling a water droplet hit his forehead. "That's how the Rim works. Sometimes it's slow as all hell, and the next second a thousand years passes within the blink of an eye. Life is just a fucked up maze of trying to figure out how to make it all makes sense."
"Come on, let's get this motherfucker out of here and into the morgue, and get ourselves to the hospital. From what I saw from above, the fire from before was taken care of before we all came down here. Thank god for those firepoppers."
The total death count today was 24,901. A massive loss to us all. Some of those people were people we worked with, and some of them were loved ones. In fact, all of them were loved ones. We've been dealt a terrible hand today, and it is up to us to persevere. We can get through this with enough faith in our system. We are in need of more civilians who are willing to do more for their homes, for their people, for their way of life. If you are willing to-
Rex turned the radio off from the seat he was in. He was currently in a private waiting room in the hospital, waiting for all the rest to get checked out. It turned out that once he got to the hospital to report him being stabbed, there was no wound there, only a small bruise. He had no broken bones, no slashes, no bleeds, absolutely nothing.
It turned out that he was perfectly healthy, all things considered. Tarbo was sent to the Morgue, and was stripped of his armor. The first thing they were instructed to do was to get rid of his Psylink in his brain and destroy it. Rex didn't know why that was the first thing to do, but Anderson seemed pretty adamant about getting it done.
Twilight was the first to step into the room, smiling brightly at me. She silently made her way next to me and sat down, causing me to shift and look at her. "How'd it go? How are the others?"
"For me it went perfect! I didn't have anything wrong with me, quite obviously since I didn't fight, but I did have some black residue in my lungs from the smoke. They gave me some sort of... liquid, and I threw it up. The others are fine and should be out of here in a minute or so."
"Oh, great!"
Rex shifted in awkward silence as the two of them tried to figure out what to say.
Rex began again. "So... That means you'll be heading home, right?"
"Celestia said she has the 'key' to get home. Luna didn't know of it, so we needed Celestia anyways in order to get back home. It was a good thing they came for us."
"Ah. Well, I uh... I'm... I'm really glad to have met you, Twilight. Seriously- you've been a gigantic help and the best friend I could've asked for in these trying times. I can't help but feel like I corrupted you a bit."
Twilight blushed a little and laughed. "You didn't corrupt me, silly! If anything it was... it was this planet that corrupted me. I know it's going to feel weird going back home after all of this, and I don't think I'll ever be able to forget about what happened here. But I... I can't help but feel like it was a good thing in disguise. My world knows of nothing like the pain this one experiences, and this helped me to understand what true pain and helplessness felt like. It'll help me help my own world."
Rex shrugged. "I guess so. I just wish you didn't get hurt in the process." He said, letting his thumb brush over her scar that ran jagged across her face. She blushed as he touched her, and she chuckled.
"Didn't you say uh.. uh- what was it... 'Chicks dig scars'?"
"Yeah, but unless you're a lesbian, I don't think that terminology works for you."
Twilight smirked. "And how do you know what I am, Rex?"
"Oh hush, will you?"
"Fine, fine~"
More silence passed.
"Hey Rex?"
"Hmm..?"
"What if... What if you- uh... What if-"
"Just fuckin' say it, Twilight!"
"What if you came with us?"
Rex stared at her confused, shifting in his seat to hunch forward. "What?"
Twilight nodded her head. "Y-yeah! Why don't you come with us?"
"H-Hah, I'm not sure I belong in a place like that."
"Why not?"
Rex shook his head. "I'm a killer, I have some sort of demon parasite thingy in me, and I will end up being the ugliest thing on the planet."
"What?! You will not be- you'd be the cutest thing on the planet!"
"Oh really now?"
"Yes, really!"
"Still doesn't change shit. I don't belong there just how you don't belong here."
"Rex, Come o-"
Suddenly, Celestia, Luna, Starlight Glimmer, and Anderson all walked through the door. Luna and Celestia proceeded to hug Twilight whilst Anderson shook hands with Rex. "You did a damn good thing Rex. I can't thank you enough."
That's when Celestia turned to Rex with a smile on her face. "Neither can I. Rex Rice, was it?"
"The one and only."
Celestia pulled Rex into a soft, warm hug. "You've done so much. Twilight has told me only a little of what your adventures were like, and both she and Starlight only had good things to say, other than the fact that you turned both of my little ponies into meat-eaters."
That seemed to make everyone in the room pause.
Celestia began to laugh. "Oh come on- it's not that serious. Alicorns are known for indulging in meat from time to time as well, so there is nothing to worry about. I am just glad that you kept my two ponies safe and sound, atleast as much as you could. There is nothing more I could've asked for."
"W-Well..." Twilight spoke up timidly. "I was asking him if he wanted to come with us. Back to Equestria. Home."
Luna and Celestia both looked at Twilight before looking at Rex. Luna spoke first. "I don't think that would be a bad idea. What do you think, sister?"
"I think that you more than well earned a place at the castle for what you've done."
Rex chuckled awkwardly and waved his hands out. "Thank you thank you, but I think Anderson here needs some help with rebuilding."
"Pfftt-" Starlight chuckled. "You think Anderson needs help rebuilding? We've witnessed him build entire complexes in days!"
"It's true, Rex." Anderson said with a smile before putting a hand on his shoulder. "You've done enough, Rex. I would love to come, but my people come first. I cannot abandon them. But Rex, you... you deserve to rest for quite some time. I can see it by looking into your eyes that you've dealt with enough stress."
Rex looked dumbfounded, and stared at all of them, before landing on Celestia. "Are... Are you sure?"
"Yes, Rex. I am sure."
"I don't have to be on this planet any more?"
"You don't have to be on this planet anymore-"
Celestia had little time to react before Rex pulled her into a tight hug, tears wetting her fur. He held onto her tighter than anything he had held onto previously in his life, and felt his entire body become weak. Celestia closed her eyes and leaned into his hug, feeling the energy permeate off of him. It was a negative energy, and she could feel all of the pain just through it alone.
He pretended to be strong for so long for the sake of survival.
He seemed to revert back to his stone mask when he pulled away and wiped his tears off. "S-So.. How do we do this? Do we just summon a portal or something?"
Luna shook her head. "Not quite. We need to go to point zero, or the exact location that we arrived on the planet at."
"Hah... My house."
Anderson smiled. "There is no need for any of you to have to walk, I have quite the craft to get you wherever you need to go. All you need to do is navigate the pilot a little bit and he'll get you where you need to go. Our ships have each geographical landmark downloaded. You will find your destination in no time."
Twilight bumped Rex in the leg. "Rex, it's time to go home."
Rex stepped inside the destroyed house that used to be his home. Dead bodies littered the living room, and blood was spilled all over the place. With the help of Twilight, the dead bodies and the blood was cleaned up, along with any other mess that was about in the place. Though Twilight questioned why they needed to do anything if they were going to leave it anyways.
Celestia and Luna were waiting outside talking to Starlight who was telling them all of the things that they had done at the house, all the projects she and Twilight had worked on, and all of the things that Rex had managed to either screw up, get injured by, or get done hopefully in the house, like building the extension.
"Come on Rex, they're waiting outside."
"Yeah- I know, just... Just give me a second, alright?"
"...Alright. I'll be outside, we'll be waiting for you."
"I'll be right out in just a moment."
As Twilight left the small house Rex went into the storage room to find a pen and paper, and set up a small table in the living room. He stared at the paper, thinking of what to write on it before coming up with what he wanted to say.
Dear Whomever Sees This,
I don't know who you are, or what you're doing here, or why you decided to enter into this house. But that doesn't matter, because I won't be here to stop you. I won't be here to tell you to get off my property and I won't be here to protect my house no more.
Whether you are here to steal things from my house, to use the meat in the freezer that is still good to eat, or whether you're running from a terrible family that wants to kill you. Whether you're running from cannibals or are high as hell and got lost in the middle of nowhere, or got shot at and now you need somewhere to bandage up.
Or perhaps, you crashed from an escape pod from a trade-ship, and landed right outside that door.
Whatever your reason may be for being here, I hope that you find use in this home and the things inside of it. I hope they're as useful to you as they were to me, and I hope that you find some sort of peace on this planet. I know it's hard to trust when someone is being kind to you on the Rim, but this place will always be a safe-haven for whoever needs it.
I've found a better place than the Rimworld, and I wish I could take the good people of this planet with me. I wish I could help all the young children who know no better and take them with me, to clothe and feed them and to pay my respects to those who have died protecting their own people.
God is cruel in forcing me to abandon you all, but I hope this proves to any of you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Don't give up, don't let go, and remember to always keep your head on a swivel. Anything could happen at any moment and at any time.
I wish you the best, whoever you might be.
Bartender, Survivor, and all around idiot,
Rex Rice
Rex laid the pen neatly on top of the paper and took one more glance around the place. He felt pride in what he had done, and hoped that this place would go to someone who really needed it. He would've liked something like this when he had first landed on the planet.
When he exited the house, he saw a portal already sitting in the field in front of his house, all of the others on the opposite side of it, waiting for him. He walked to it, stopping right in front of it before turning back to his house. He watched it for a few seconds, thinking back to all of the things that occurred here.
"Damn. Didn't think I'd even miss the damn place."
He stepped through the portal.
THE END Moving On, by Alistair Lindsay, Rimworld OST
JO-11 looked down at his dead friend amongst the rubble of the empire that he saw him build. Built upon the idea of revenge, but also sustainability in what he thought was a perfect civilization. Perhaps flawed, in more ways than most, but the fact remained that it was a successful kingdom that rose from the ashes of an oppressive force. A force, that most allied under.
Dragging his body from the inside of Anderson's city to here was not an easy task. It took weeks to achieve, and his friends body was rotted. Yet the state of his body didn't matter, as JO-11 proceeded to plunge his fist into the soft flesh of his friends head, and pulled out a small blue chip. "You aren't dead yet, friend. You simply need to be reborn. First, however... We should upgrade you."
JO-11 walked down the broken hallways of the castle, seeing rotted corpses of nobles and other high-class men and women. No matter how much Luciferium they took it couldn't stop something as plain and simple as death. Only one thing could do something like that, and it was reserved for this case especially. His world did not have magic, and they did not have a fantastical belief in friendship and ideology, as Daybreaker said she built her foundation upon, despite her actions playing against her words.
Daybreaker was a traitor, and she would eventually pay. Same with her student, her sister, and that bastard.
Rex Rice. A simple name for a simple man. Atleast, that's what he was supposed to be. Yet, upon being ambushed in a tribal camp, he unhinged his jaw and ate his men like a snake. He had a purple eye, same as Tarbo, and had something inside of him controlling his newfound power. He was a cruel image of what a human should be, and he would be exterminated with time.
JO-11 found himself at his destination, deep inside the underground laboratory's secret passageway. In front of him stood a large casket with multiple buttons all over it. He opened the casket with one of the buttons, and inside it revealed something that looked human, but wasn't. It was green in color, and had cracks all over the skin with molten lava being contained inside. It's eyes were hollow and black, with it's mouth slightly open to reveal pure-white teeth.
"The Osiris Casket. I didn't think I'd ever need to use this, friend." JO-11 said as he looked at the chip. He inserted the chip into the machine, to which it then pushed it through before stopping at the base of the creatures neck. It then slit itself like a disk in a computer, and the casket shut violently afterwards. A dial in the middle began to spin, revealing a count-down timer of three months.
He smirked, turning around and heading outside the hidden room. As he left he passed under a sign that was placed over the entrance of the room.
