> My New Life as a Xenopony in Equestria > by ArlynntheDragon > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- My thoughts went back to that day: the day I learned that I was the last in my family. For some odd reason, a group of assholes decided to go after my family and kill them. I mean, what was the point? What did they do to warrant that? What did I do? I didn't even know these guys, and they got to murder what's left of my family, my anchor, my reason for living. When I heard the news I just lost it: full-on rage mode. I wanted to go after those creeps myself, tear 'em apart limb from limb. I wanted to make them suffer for taking my life line away, but the bastards got away before the police could arrive. I was pulled from my musings by the cashier who was waiting for me to empty my cart onto the conveyor belt so she could ring it up. She was a nice girl who was there for me when I got the news. I think she had a bit of a crush on me, though I can't imagine why(I mean, seriously, who, in their right would want an ugly guy like me?)since she kept inviting me to her house, and I had to admit I had a crush on her too(which is why I would always accept her offer.....repeatedly). Her name was Karen and she was sporting a nice baby bump, that housed our child, that I loved looking at. "Hey, Jer," she greets me. "Hey-" I was cut off when I heard a shout of "GET ON THE GROUND NOW!!" and then 4 guys in black ski masks come bursting in, like they own the place! "GET DOWN ON THE GROUND AND NO ONE GETS HURT!!!" I hear one of them shout. Why does that voice sound so familiar? I think to myself. While everyone else was doing as they were told, including the cashier, I was feeling a little..........defiant. I decided to challenge the leader a bit. "Why should we? What gives you the right to order us around?" I retorted. "This," He answered while leveling a pistol to my head. "Is that supposed to scare me?" I asked with a deadpan expression on my face. ".....yeah?" He responded uncertainly. I was definitely getting to him now. I decided to push him a little more. "To quote a certain.....clawed villain, ' I'm afraid I'm not that afraid '" I said with a smirk on my face. Seriously where have I heard that voice before?! BANG! Red. That's all I saw when I lifted my hand to my head and felt the blood oozing from a fresh hole made into it. BANG! I look to my left............ ...........and saw Karen, on the floor, with a bullet hole in her belly. Forget seeing red, I lost full control. It felt like something else took over, something........feral, something.........Alien. Suddenly, images started flowing through my head. It took me a while, but I recognized them as memories, however they weren't mine. I saw my family through the eyes of my sister, then I saw IT, my family's murder. It wasn't until I heard one of them, which I presumed to be the leader, speak when I realized it wasn't me who heard it: it was MY SISTER! That is the Hive memory a voice told me. "W-who's th-there?" I asked. Now is not the time for introductions. You must return to the present. They haven't much time. "What are you talking about?!" I demanded. All will be revealed soon. Now AWAKEN! I was brought back to the present by a small whimper. I turned to see Karen holding a hand to her stomach trying to stop the bleeding. Then something within me snapped: that was my baby, they dared to try to kill MY BABYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!! It happened all so sudden: my agility, my strength increased, my hand-eye coordination improved, and let's just say that every martial artist in the multiverse were leaking tears of pride. Whenever the robbers/murderers tried to land a hit, it was either dodged, blocked, or given another target. Moments later the quartet were on the floor bruised, and beaten. At the same time, paramedics were rushing to save Karen and the baby. I lumbered over to check on them all while my vision started to blur(yeah forgot I took one to the head) "Are you alright? Is the baby safe?" I asked. "Yes we're fine. You were very brave, defending us like that." Karen replied weakly. Suddenly I started getting weaker. This is it for me. My vision got blurrier. "Karen?" "Yes?" "I'm not gonna make it, and I just wanted to let you know that I love you, and I'm sorry I won't be there to help raise our child-" "Son" interrupted Karen. "W-what?" I asked. "We're having a son. I wanted to tell you after work, but you know how it is." A son. I'm having a son. If only I had the strength to lift my arms to pull you close to me! I've never felt so happy in all my life until that moment. My strength was nearly gone, along with my eyesight. If I was going to tell her, now was the time. "Karen?" I asked, voice getting weaker. "Yes?" "I do" "You what?" She asked, puzzled by my words. "I'm answering the most important question of my life, and the answer is I do" I replied. Karen just laid there stunned. He's marrying me before he passes! "In that case, let me reciprocate: I do too!" she said before giving me the most passionate kiss I ever had in my life. It was the most beautiful moment in all time, in my opinion. Unfortunately, my time was nearly over. "What should we call him?" I asked as fast as I could. "We could name him after your father." she answered. I thought about it, but decided not to put a target on his back. "How 'bout we give him one of those elvish names, y'know from that book series you like so much?" she suggested. "I think I got just-hungh!-just the one. How about-" I whispered the name in her ear. She thinks it over for a short while until-"It's perfect, just what I was thinking of." Karen happily said. My strength was just about gone, along with my sight. I gave Karen one last passionate kiss before everything went black, but not before she speaks the name of our son: "My sweet Arlynn." ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wake up. "H-huh? Who's there?" Open up your eyes and see for your self. I do as I was instructed and, to my surprise, gazed upon one of the most scary and deadliest creatures in all of cinematic history: a Xenomorph Empress. You are familiar with my species, yes? "Wait, how are you speaking to me, miss uh?" I asked her The Hivemind, young one. "Hivemind? But I'm not a-" Like I've said before, there's no time for a debate. You are familiar with my species, correct? "Yes, I am-" You are also familiar with the world known as Equestria, correct? "Yes?" Good. I am going to send you to Equestria, more specifically, when Twilight Sparkle is reading about Nightmare Moon. "Won't she, y'know, freak out at seeing a human for the first time?" Who said anything about you being human when you arrive? "Forgive me for saying this, but I don't like what you're implying." Answer me this: which is more dangerous, a feral xenomorph with no mind at all, or a sapient xenomorph queen with a mind and voice of her own, not to mention one who knows the ways of both magic and the Force? That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out, my last thought being And she never even told me her name. > Chapter 1: Where Am I? Part-1 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tara POV: Falling................why am I falling? I had no time to ponder the question when I gently landed on what felt like solid ground. Wait gently? Why would I gently land.....Magic. of course. Then came the worst sound I ever heard. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"Who could be screaming their lungs off at...this...time......Wait, I know that voice. I opened my eyes Huh, I seem to be doing a lot of that lately. only to see a purple pony, a very scared purple pony screaming her head off. Wait a minute! "Uh, hi?" I greeted her, but then I winced. That's not my voice. My voice doesn't sound like that. It sounds liiiiiike.............Twilight Sparkle. Said purple pony was about to start screaming until I shushed her with a claw-Wait claws? I gave myself a once-over and what I saw WASN'T what I expected to see. Instead of a fur-covered quadrupedal equine body, was a chitinous quadrupedal cross between a pony and............I'm a.....a.......xenopony?! Nevermind that now, I got a Purple-Smart Book-Horse to calm down. "Sshh. Calm down, I'm not gonna hurt you." I said reassuringly. I cringed internally at how our voices sound the same. "W-w-who a-a-are y-you?" the purple pony asked shakily. Hmmmm. Don't wanna tell her my real name. I thought to myself. I went back and forth trying to decide on a new name, since technically I'm dead. It only took a few seconds to give my answer: "Call me...........Tara Strong." I answered with a determined look. SERIOUSLY?! Yes I'm using Twilight's voice actor's name as my own. What did you want me to do?! "N-nice to m-meet you, I'm Twilight Sparkle." she returns my greeting. "So, if you don't mind me asking, what are you?" "Welp, not sure really." I answered honestly. "Would you mind getting me a full-body mirror, please?" She brought the mirror from.............somewhere, and I finally get a look at what I've become: purple chitin(pronounced KITIN, not chitin) covered me from head to claw(there were claws at the ends of my front hooves and another set of arms and claws with some sort of draconic wings), lavender(or amethyst, if you want to get picky) eyes with draconic pupils, tubes coming out of my back, but what got me the most was the head. My head was elongated from the back,with a Unicorn horn growing out of my forehead, not to mention the head crest which I recognized immediately: it was the head crest of a Xenomorph Queen. There were a few tense seconds before I suddenly remembered something. "Hey, Twilight, isn't one of your friends throwing a birthday for one Moon Dancer?" I asked. She looked at me as though I suddenly grew a second head from my neck for a moment until her eyes widened in realization. "Oh, my gosh! I nearly forgot! I need to get back, I need to do some research on the Mare in the Moon! I-oh Spike! I forgot about Spike! He needs to know about you. I-" She started to go on a rant before I cut her off with a claw to Twilight's muzzle. "You let me worry about all that. You have a party to get to, and I'm NOT taking any excuses." I reassured her. "You sound like my sister, if I had a sister." Twilight responded with a shocked expression on her face. Yet it wasn't her face that stirred something in me, it was what she said about not having a sister. "W-w-would you like one?" I asked in a small voice. Twilight stares at me with a confused expression until, suddenly, it morphs into shocked realization. "You're all alone, aren't you?" she asks with a hitch in her throat. I simply nod. "My family was murdered while I was away. To add insult to injury, the ones who murdered them then tried to rob a store, the same store I was shopping at. I challenged them, and my reward was a shot to the head. To make matters worse, those monsters also shot my, then pregnant, girlfriend-" "Don't you mean 'marefriend'?" Twilight interrupts. I rolled my eyes in irritation at being interrupted again. "No, I meant 'girlfriend.' I wasn't born like this, ya know. I was born as a human." This caught Twilight by surprise. "I'm sorry, but could you repeat that?" She asked me, while wearing the same manic expression she wore in "Lesson Zero." "After you come back from Moon Dancer's party, I promise, now git!" I instructed after checking what time it was. "Okay, sis. I'm going, but don't I need a gift to give her?" "I got the perfect one" I assured her and gave her the same type of book Princess Celestia uses to communicate with Sunset Shimmer How am I doing this? Wait a minute.........PINKIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE! YYYYYYYYYeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssssssss? Are you breaking the 4th wall again? Well how else are you gonna move this story along? Speaking of which, When are you gonna start using your newfound Force abilities? Huh, huh, huh? Wait what Force abilities.................................. Flashback: Answer me this: which is more dangerous, a feral, mindless xenomorph drone, or a sapient xenomorph queen with a voice of her own, along with the ability, and knowledge of both magic and the Force? End Flashback: OOOOOooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhh. I'll get back to you on that. Okie-dokie-lokie! Now where was I? Oh yes, that's right. Twilight had just headed out to Moon Dancer's party, while I head off to Twilight's tower to prepare for a certain princess's arrival. Oh if only I knew. I reached the tower in record time attributing my speed to my species change. Instead of just bursting through(Hee, hee. Bursting), I decided to knock first. KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! "COMING!" yelled a young male voice I easily recognized as Spike. A minute later the door opened a crack to reveal two emerald eyes. "Who is it?" he asked through the door. "My name is Tara. I'm a friend of Twilight's, can I come in?" I responded. Spike then proceeded to throw the door wide open. "Hey, there Tara, I'm SpiAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh!" And now we're back to the screaming. Gotta be honest, it hurts when people scream and run away at the first sight of me. I wanted to start crying right then and there, but I still had a job to to. KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! "Spike! Open up! I'm here on orders from Princess Celestia!" I belted out. After ten long and torturous seconds, the door slowly opened, revealing a frightened dragon. [RANDOM PONIES]: "How frightened?" [ME]: "Scared Shitless. Now, if we can get on with it?" "A-a-are you gonna eat me?" Spike asked in a timidity that a certain butter yellow pegasus would be proud of. "No Spike, I'm not gonna eat you-" I said before said dragon cut me off. "A-are you gonna put one of your-" he started to say before I stopped him from making a fool of himself. "No I'm not gonna use you as a host for my eggs. Where'd he even get that idea? I meant what I said about orders from Princess Celestia. I need you to send Celestia a letter. Can you get me a quill, parchment, and inkwell?" I said. Minutes later, I handed him my letter. Spike took the letter and burned it, sending it on it's way. Now let's see....was there anything else tha-Wait a minute! "Spike, does Twilight still have that book 'Perfection: The Impossible Pursuit' from the library?" I asked. "She might, why?" "I need you to return it, so that Twilight doesn't get a late fine on her card, then make your way to Moon Dancer's party." "On it, but what about Moon Dancer's gift?" Spike asked concerned. "Is it broken?" I inquired. Spike went to retrieve it, and to both of our relief, the present was in pristine condition. I was, then, struck with an idea. "How far is it to the library?" "Not far, why?" "Just wanted to make you wouldn't tire yourself out, that's all." Spike nodded then, with book in claws, ran straight for the library. But he would only make it a few steps before belching out a green flame, which then formed into a bound scroll, which he then handed to me. To Miss Tara Strong, I thank you for bringing your concerns to me, however plans are already in motion for my sister's return. I'm sure after the Summer Sun Celebration we'll talk further in-depth. For now you are to join Twilight on a trip to Ponyville to head up the preparations. Also tell Twilight that her most important task is to make some friends. Only then will she be that much closer to fulfilling her destiny. Sincerely yours, Princess Celestia P.S. : UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES ARE YOU TO TELL TWILIGHT ABOUT THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AND FRIENDSHIP'S ROLE IN WIELDING THEM. [Inward Groan]"Hey Spike? When you get back, tell Twilight that she's got another assignment from the Princess!" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, in the Void: Karen's POV: I opened my eyes to total darkness, trying to remember how I got here, my last memory being in the hospital having surgery done to save.............my....................son. "Hello? I-is anyone there?" I asked shakily. Hello Karen. I am so sorry for your losses. "W-who's there, and what are you talking about?" You do not remember? "Not really." What is the last thing you remember? "I-" Then it comes back to me: the robbery, the shots, the fight, and- "I remember everything." Good. That makes what I need to tell you all the more easier, and important. "Hold on. Would you mind showing me what you look like?" Are you sure you want to see? "Yes, why?" Most people, when they see me, usually scream "OH NO! AN EMPRESS! QUICK! CALL THE COLONIAL MARINES!" or say with a sad sigh "There's never an M-41A when you need one" I am that ugly. "I give you my word that you won't hear any of that from me." ......................Very well. was the last thing I heard before I was looking upon a................. "And you called yourself 'ugly'." What are you talking about? I am the ugliest, scariest. thing in all- "THAT'S ENOUGH!" I yelled angrily. I was not about to let the Empress put herself down like that. "You are NOT ugly, or scary. You are, without a doubt, the most beautiful creature I have ever met. In fact, if i wasn't straight, I would ask to bear your children." Y-you would do that f-f-for m-m-me? "In a heartbeat." I replied wholeheartedly. What would your husband say to that? "He'd agree with me." Now I know what HE saw in you. Tell me, are you familiar with Canterlot High School? "Is that where I'm going?" Yes, but not as you currently are. You see: there is a girl who goes by the name of.........Sunset Shimmer. "I'm gonna take a couple of guesses here: you want me to become either this Sunset's friend, or Sunset herself. Which is it?" Sunset herself, but with a twist. "Will I still be able to keep my memories?" I asked with some trepidation. Yes. "How 'bout being able to use-" I am going to give you the same abilities I gave to the last person I met, before you. "Which were?" I asked, curiously. Why is she being so vague? I mean it's not like the last person to see her was...............Ooooh. The ability to use both magic, and the Force. Why are you looking at me with a face that says 'I just figured something..................out? "That's because I did: you met my husband, and sent him on some kind of mission, and sometime in the near future I'm gonna meet up with him again. Correct me if I'm wrong." I challenged her. The look, and body motions confirmed it. Yes. It is true. I met your husband. However, there was not enough time to determine what his personality was like. "Well, I can tell you that he's such a HUGE fan of your species. I can imagine his mind was blown when he first saw you." Hmmm, he did seem a little, how do you say, starstruck. "Now, about this twist......." You will find out when you awaken, which should be riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight arooooooooooouuuuuuuuuuund NOW! Which was the only warning I got before passing out........................................................................... > Chapter 1 & 1/2: Where Am I? Part-2 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile in the human world: "Uugh, my head. What happened?" I asked no one in particular. I started to sit up when I was hit with a sudden wave of nausea, and went straight to the bathroom. The sounds of puking could be heard coming from an apartment building in a suburban town. Okay, let's think about this logically. I thought to my self while exiting said bathroom. Nausea, puking in the morning, Wait...those are symptoms of............Morning sickness, which doesn't happen unless- I place a hand over my stomach, which was a little swollen, right above my womb, and felt a flutter, like a heartbeat. Then it clicks: I felt this before, in another life. Something tells me Sunset went through this before too. Before any assumptions can be made, I need to be absolutely sure, With a plan in mind, I head to the nearest clinic to see if I was right. Maybe later I can try to make sense out of the situation I landed myself in. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On the way there I ran into a teenage girl with butter-yellow skin, and light pink flowing hair. I immediately recognized her and helped her up, apologizing all the while. "It's okay, I wasn't watching where I was goi-i-i-i-i-i-i," Said girl cut herself off after she recognized exactly who it was she bumped into. She then took a looooooong breath, but before she could scream, I placed my hand over her mouth to quiet her. "Okay, look, I'm not gonna hurt you. I'm sorry for bumping into you like that, but I'm on my way to the clinic to get a checkup. You wanna come with?" After getting a shaky nod from the frightened girl I moved my hand away from her mouth. She took several deep breaths before she even began to calm down. I also noticed how she kept shying away from me, as though I would try to hurt her in some way. Then we started walking to the clinic, with me trying to start up a conversation any time I could. "So, what's your name?" I asked her. She then started looking at me weirdly. "Y-y-you don't remember me?" "N-no, should I?" I answered. Which was true since I never watched the show. I only know about Sunset because of my husband. "I-it's just-" the pink-haired girl trailed off. "What is it, What did I use to do?" I asked, worried and concerned. What she said next chilled me to the bone. "You bullied me. You bullied, berated, and belittled me every chance you got! It was so bad I thought about-" I didn't need to hear any more. I simply pulled the girl into the biggest hug I could give her, apologizing all the while. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" was the only thing I could say to the victim of Sunset's path to power. I then came up with a way to help make it up to the poor dear. "I, Sunset Shimmer, do hereby swear on my life to never, ever, bully, berate, belittle, insult,..................didn't get the name-" "Flutter Shy" answers the pink-haired girl. "-Flutter, of the House of Shy, nor those whom she calls friends and family. So Mote It Be!" After having said that, a bright flash appeared above my head, which went on to take the shape of a two-toned sun. If I had to guess, that was Magic accepting my vow. After what felt like a few minutes we made our way to the local clinic. I walked up to the receptionist and made an appointment, then I made my way to the waiting room, where Flutters was waiting. We spent time time catching me up on current events. Apparently, I'm going out with some guy called Flash something. Sorry Flash, but I'm taken. I, also learned of the friendship status of the HuMane 5, which is to say, non-existent. Another thing Imma gonna have to fix. I, then, started telling Flutters about me, you know, who I was, my past, even my little brush with Death. I think at that point Fluttershy.exe had stopped working, because by the time my name was called, she was still out of it. > Chapter 2: On to Ponyville! > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "I still don't see why Princess Celestia wants me to 'make friends' while we're going over the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration." Twilight, once AGAIN complained to both me 'n' Spike. Twilight Velvet 'n' Night Light adopted me before we left. I even got to meet Cadence, and gave her a security passcode in case either she or I got pony-napped. Shining Armor, on the other hoof, took an instant dislike to me. Come to think of it, he wasn't exactly nice to Twilight either. Weird.. I REALLY wanted to tell her why she needed to make friends, but Celestia's warning kept ringing in my ears. I swear, she's getting lessons from Dumbledore. I gave my lil' sis a smile that anypony could tell was forced. Leave it to Spike to provide the necessary 'Princess-Celestia-knows-what-she's-doing' spiel. "I'm sure she knows what she's doing. This is Princess Celestia we're talkin' about!" Spike assured Twilight, while I remain sceptical. Oh did I mention that I'm flying alongside Sis's chariot UNDER MY OWN POWER?! As a certain rainbow-maned Pegasus would say: "THIS. IS. AWESOME!" Not to mention I've already started my Force training, and I'm doing pretty good iffin' I do say so myself. We made our way to Ponyville safely, Sis's griping, and Spike's constant attempts at humor falling flat not withstanding. "Twilight, tell me you didn't forget about all the fun you had at Moondancer's party, did you?" I asked/whined. "PARTY?! THERE WAS A PARTY AND I MISSED IT?!" wailed a certain pink pony with a poofy mane. "Oh, by the way.........."[PINKIE GASP!] Then said pink pony jumped, hovered, and ran. I had a feeling we'd be seeing her again soon. To make a long story short, Twi handled the decorations and music, while I oversaw the food sitch and weather. Brunch at Sweet Apple Acres was just as filling as I remembered....................................................right until I met the business end of Granny's rifle. Where on Equuss did the old nag hide that thing? Ya know what? I don't wanna know. Food: check! Luckily we all made up in time for me to inspect the weather..................................................only for a certain sky-blue, rainbow-maned Pegasus mare to come dangerously to plowing right into me. It was only thanks to my Force training that that didn't happen. Not to mention the amount of hostility I was getting made me realize that she was angry with me, most likely due to my looks.