Almost Human Chapter 2 - Omitting Certain Truths

“Captain, are you absolutely sure it’s a human?  Have you been eating the mushrooms in the Evertree forest again?”

 

“I swear to Celestia, it’s real!  But don't worry. it’s locked up.  He’s bound by chains so he shouldn’t be able to get us.”

 

More voices could be heard as more gathered just outside your cell.  As the door opens, more light enters your cell but you still stay buried underneath your bed of hay.  You find it odd that you hear trotting.  It sounds almost like colts or ponies entering your cell.

 

“I think it’s sleeping…”  One of the guards spoke.

 

“D-Do you think we should wake it?”  

 

“You do it!”

 

“No, you do it!”

 

“We’ll all do it together.  You two..  take the left and right.  The rest of you, behind me.  If it tries anything, take him down!”

 

“Understood, Captain!”  They all said in unison.

 

Looks like you’re being jumped.  As you sigh, you emerge from the hay stack while still facing the wall.  

 

“I really don’t think there’s any need for any violence here, am I right gentlemen?”  You said while still facing the wall.

 

“*GASP*  Mother of Celestia!  I-it speaks!”  One of them yelled.

 

“Stay focused!” One of the guards said to the other.

 

“Hey now, wait a minute!”  You say while turning around.  “I may be a conduit, but I have feelings to, goddamnit!  I’m not an obje-  BY THE MIGHTY HAT OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN!  TALKING HORSES!?”  You cut your own speech off as you turn to face the guards.  

 

What you saw before you was something you really wouldn’t have expected. You see six while colts in the same armor as before surrounding you.  You look back to your empty bowls of food and look back to them.  

“D-did you put drugs in my food?”  You stand up in a rather hasteful manner while backing up against the wall while trying to take this all in.  

 

“Also, can I get some more?  Preferably some Percocet and morphine if possible?  And some Ambien for later on tonight?”

 

The six guards then take a step back while assuming a defensive position against you.  But then one of them seems to be lowering their defense while cautiously walking towards you.  

 

“Captain, what are you doing?  Are you crazy?!  Get back here!”  One of the guards said while one of them approached you.  

 

As the leader approaches you, he stops several feet in front of you.  

 

“So.. you CAN talk after all, human.”  He said in a calm voice.

 

“Y-yeah.  I wasn’t expecting YOU to talk though.”  You said while still rubbing your eyes and checking your ears to see if you really were talking to a colt.  

 

“Please, we don’t want to hurt you.  Calm yourself, we just want to talk, that’s all.  We mean you no harm, human.”  He said.

 

Their leader then turned his attention to his crew.  “Lower your defenses, all of you!”  

 

As the colt guards looked at each other, they hesitantly took a less aggressive stance and stood there while raising their heads, but keeping a close eye on you.

 

As you slowly back away from the wall, you approach the captain.  The leader of the crew then extends one of his front hooves towards you.  You assume that he wants to…  Shake hands with you?  That’s how you seem to interpret it.

 

“I’m Captain Shining Armor of the royal palace guards within Princess Celestia’s Palace!  What is your name, human?”  He asks.

 

You sense no hostility or hidden intentions behind his voice.  It feels as though you were holding a conversation with another human being.  As you slowly extend your hand to shake the hoof of the captain, you relax a bit knowing that there can be some kind of understanding with these colts that seem to be capable of rationality and reasoning.

 

Although, holding a conversation with what you consider an animal is something you still haven’t been able to grasp at the moment.

 

“My name is…  Anon.”  You say while shaking his hoof.

 

“A pleasure to meet you, Anon.”

 

“Likewise, Captain.”  You reply while bringing your hand down.

 

“How are your wounds?  Are they healing correctly?  We have little to no knowledge of how to treat humans, so we did what we could.”  He asked.  

 

“Your medical staff did quite well.  They disinfected my wounds and seemed to have dressed them up properly.  I suppose we humans are not so different; we cut, bleed, and heal just the same I guess.    I’ll be fine if I just rest for a bit and take it easy.”  You reply while rubbing your midsection.  

“So, have you come to just check up on me?”

 

“Yes.  The princess also wishes to meet you and asked us to escort you to her.  I’m glad we can do so without having to apply force while being civil about this.”  The guard said.

 

“Yeah, same here.”  You reply.  

 

“Guards!  Release him from your bindings!”  He commanded.  “Don’t worry, we can trust him.  He won’t try anything, right?”  He continued while looking at you, not in a threatening way but with trust.

 

You nod your head acknowledging him while rubbing your wrists getting your blood to circulate your hands once again.

 

As the guards escort you to meet their leader, you take in all the scenery as make your way to meet her.  The gothic yet cartoonish and colorful architecture fascinates and intrigues you.  

Although, the owner of this castle really had a thing for the color pink and purple.  

 

You notice the stained glass windows which have various artworks of other ponies and eventually pass by a design that has a chimera-like hybrid creature, a dark blue pony, a white pony and 6 different colored ponies.  As you continue moving along, you see other ponies, colts, and foals as well.  They gasp and stare at you.  Some keep their distance from you.  Some actually start following you with some kind of fascination, but are immediately brushed away by your guards.  

 

As you approach the door of a large building, you notice the sun design on the door.  The door opens and as you walk in, more ponies start gawking at you while whispering to each other.  Although this strange new world may seem strange to you, you yourself seem to be the strange one to them and you are becoming aware that humans may have lost their spot as one of the dominant species of earth.  

 

Hell, you may not even be on earth.  

 

As you make your way through the great hall, you see another pony, but this one was different.  She was white, had a long flowing mane with several bright colors, and wore a crown while sitting on her throne.  As you approach the princess, the guards and their captain kneel before the princess.  At the risk of disrespecting royalty and being sent back to prison, you kneel down on both of your knees with your hands on your lap while bowing your head.  You can hear her trotting down her throne and approaching you.  As you still continue to stare at the ground in front of you, you can see her gold plate covered hooves standing in front of you.

 

“Thank you, Captain.  That will be all.  I’ll take it from here.”  She said.

 

“Yes, your majesty!  Guards, back to your posts!”  He said with an authoritative voice.

 

Still unsure of what to do, you still remain on your knees facing the ground staring at the princess’s gold hooves.  

 

“It’s okay, you can stand up.”  She said.

 

As you slowly stand on your feet and raise your head, you are now looking into the eyes of this divine creature.  On all fours, she was slightly shorter than you.  You see a smile on her face as you stare into her amethyst eyes.  

 

“Hi.”  She says wispers a warm voice.  

 

“I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and goddess of the sun.  What might your name be, human?”  

 

Dat voice…  It was very alluring.  It caused an unexplainable kind of comfort to your ears and it was something you can really listen to all day.  It was like that of a mature yet elegant woman.  Not quite seductive, but it was really soothing.

 

“A-Anon, your highness.”  You reply while once again bowing down.

 

“My goodness!  Such a polite being!  Are all humans as polite as you are?”  She says with a slight giggle.  

 

“Well, I can’t really say I speak on behalf of the human race.”  You reply while forcing out a chuckle.

 

Could you really?  You weren’t technically human.  You were labeled a conduit hanging on to whatever shred of humanity you had left in you.  You were the only link to humans and the remnants of your civilization and former self, yet if you told someone you were a human you’d consider yourself a liar.  

 

They don’t seem to know about conduits nor has there been any mention of them.  

 

And for your sake let’s keep it that way.

 

“Anyways…”  You say while trying to change the subject.  “Am I the first human you’ve met?”  You lied while trying to force a poker face.

 

“You’re the only human I’ve met in my lifetime.  Perhaps the only one in existence.”  

 

“Wait…  The only human in existence?  What year is this?  Where am I?  And how long has it been?”  You ask as your eyes widen.

 

“I see we may have much to discuss, Anon.  Come, walk with me.”  Celestia said as she walks past you.  

 

You then start walking beside her as she shows you around the castle.  

 

You learn from her that humans are mythological creatures here in Equestria.  There is no proof of their existence and just thought up to be creatures of make believe in fairy tales and fiction.  You are still unable to pinpoint an “exact” location of where you are, or what had exactly happen after that day…

 

Never would you have ever imagined ponies as sentient beings or having such an established civilization.  As you walk with Celestia, you can feel the attention and stares from other ponies piercing you once again.  You try to shrug it off, but still felt at unease. Notoriety was never a good thing, especially for someone like you.  Celestia then looks at you and notices how uncomfortable you seem to be.

 

“Don’t worry too much about them.  It’s not every day we see a specimen such as yourself here!”  She said while trying to cheer you up.  

 

“I guess I’m the odd one here, aren’t I?”  You said jokingly while appreciating what she was trying to do for you.

 

“Now now, Anon.  I’m sure this world does seem a bit strange to you yourself.”  She said.  “Also, I must apologize for my guards throwing you in a dungeon like that.  It’s just that we know very little of humans and all the information we have about your race is based on folklore and fairytales.  So being the cautious colts they are, they decided to lock you up assuming it was best for my safety.  I do apologize for that.”  She continued.

 

You were sensing some kind of guilt and sincerity in here voice.  You couldn’t really blame her guards for being overprotective of her.  She was afterall a princess.

 

“It’s okay.” You say while turning to face here.  “They were just really looking out for you.  I can assure you that many of us are harmless.”  You said while smiling at her.  “I mean no offense by this, Princess Celestia, but I will say that this wasn’t the first peculiar thing to ever happen to me.”

 

“Haha!  Well in that case, it should make fitting in here easier for you!”  She said jokingly.

 

It was rather odd.  You were engaging in a conversation with a unicorn…  pony…  Pegasus….?  Well whatever she was to you, it was also like speaking to another human.  And nonetheless she was quite friendly and easy to talk to.  Not to mention that soothing voice she had.

 

As the both of you continue to walk down the halls, the both of you stop before a large door.

“As long as you are here in Canterlot, I am making you a guest in my castle.  This will be your private quarters for the time being while you are here.”  She said while one her guards started opening the door for the both of you.

 

As you enter the room, you are in awe as you take in the surroundings and décor.  The roof was high with various bright cloths and silk that decorated the room.  There were shelves of books that nearly covered the wall with a large desk at the one side of the room.  Several maps and paintings hung from other parts of the wall.  In the center of the room was a bed, or more like a gigantic pillow with smaller pillows and sheets.   It was room that was truly fit for a king.  At the edge of the room was a balcony which gave quite a view of Equestria.  

 

As you walk towards the ledge of the balcony you lean on the railing and stare down at scenery before you and what appear to be several villages and towns below you.  The sun goddess makes her way to the same balcony and sits her haunches on the ground right next to you as you stand over the ledge taking in this new world before your very eyes.

 

“This town over here is Canterlot.”  She said as she pointed down with her hoof.  “That area over there with all of the dark colored trees is the Evertree Forest.  Be careful of that area.  Many vicious and hostile creatures inhabit that forest.”

 

You then recall that incident you had with that…  Walking abomination of a chicken that bit your nose earlier.  “I’ll try to be careful.  What’s that town over there?”  You ask while noticing a small village in the horizon.

 

“That place over there is Ponyville.” She said while noticing the curiosity on your face.    

 

“It looks… peaceful.”  You say while gazing in that direction.  

 

As you continue gazing into the horizon with the sun setting, you let out a deep sigh.  

 

“A bit for your thoughts?”  Celestia said while standing on all fours and facing you giving her full attention to you.

 

“I’m sorry, what?”  You say while sounding confused.

 

“Just an expression.  Is there something you’d like to tell me?”  She asked.

 

As you turn to face her, you can see a concerned look in her eyes.  It warmed your heart knowing that someone else was there to hear you out, even if you’ve barely met this…  pony… for only a short time.  With her being a princess, she must have a lot of responsibilities, burdens, and problems to carry on her shoulder.  For her to address concerns is just another day for her, no matter how big or small they are.

 

Even that of your very own.  Yours just seemed to be more for her to carry on her shoulders, but she was willing to do whatever she can to see it resolved.  

 

As you turn your back to the horizon and lean your elbows to the railing, you start facing the ground.

“I guess I’m just trying to get used to all of this.  I feel a little… out of place in your world.”  

You say while still facing the ground.  “Is this really my new home?”

 

You then feel something on your shoulder.  You turn to see that it is her hoof.  It wasn’t hard or cold as a horse’s hoof with a horseshoe, but it oddly felt soft and warm to the touch.

 

“I can only imagine how overwhelmed you are at the moment.  I’m so sorry, Anon.  I know I can’t do much for you, but I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”  She said while giving you a warm smile.

 

Honestly, it didn’t seem that bad.  You didn’t have much going on in your world anyways.  

 

Or anything good.

 

“Meh.  I’ll try to get by.  Also, your generosity knows no boundaries, Princess.  We have only met for a several moments, yet you offer me healthcare, food, and even a roof over my head with that of which is suited for royalty.  It pains me knowing that I can’t give you anything in return or repay the generosity you have shown me.  I have almost nothing to my name except for a few meager possessions from my old world.”  You say while taking the same kneel as before while bowing your head feeling humbled.

 

“Now now, Anon.  Stand up.”  She said in her usual warm voice.  

 

You do as what you’re told and face her once again.

 

“It’s only a guest room.”  She continued while the both of you let out a slight chuckle.  “Besides, it’s not every day we have a human in our presence.  There’s just so much we can learn from you and much for you to teach us.  We would like to learn your history, your way of life…  Oh, there is just so much we want to know about you!”

 

“So you’re just buttering me up because I possess knowledge of what you consider a fallen mythological race?”  You said jokingly while raising an eyebrow.

 

“Pretty much, Anon.”  She said while picking up on your tone.

 

“Just promise me you won’t dissect me or cut me up.”

 

“Oh, heavens no!  I wouldn’t want to wish such harm upon you!”  She said while gasping slightly.

 

“Very well then, I’ll do what I can for your scholars and historians.”  

 

“Excellent!  Then it’s settled!  I am now granting you full citizenship of Equestria!”  She replies enthusiastically.  “I have other duties to tend to in the meantime, so I’ll leave you for now.  I'll have the paperwork brought up to you shortly.  If you need anything please don’t hesitate to call any royal servants or guards.  I am now officially making you an honorary guest within my castle so anything you want is yours.”

 

“Is it okay of I explore around a bit?  I would like to see your land and way of life myself.  I’m a bit of a traveler myself.”  You ask.

 

“Only under the condition that my guards or Captain Shining Armor escort you around.  The fact that a lone human walking around without my guards watching may alarm others.”

 

“Fair enough.”  You reply.

 

“I’ll send for you when dinner is served.  Now if you’ll excuse me.”  She said as she walked out of your room.

 

You were the remnants of whatever the human race had left and the only link to what seemed like mythological creatures to them.  Your new life begins with a clean slate as a “human”.  No longer do you live in a world or land torn apart by war or a conduit driven mad by power.

 

What exactly are conduits you ask?  They certainly were different, that's for damn sure.  

 

Some consider them humans with abilities or powers.  Some label them as monsters with their humanity stripped away.  They were literally 1 in a 1000, so you can only imagine that they were kinda hard to find.  Activating potential conduits require that a high price be paid and usually involves lives of humans and non-conduits.  You don’t choose to be a conduit or human; you’re either one or the other.  

 

Worst of all, it immediately decided whether you live or die by a madman of a conduit with way too much power on your hands.  If you were a conduit, you live but only under his rule.  If you were a human without being “blessed” with the conduit gene, your fate was sealed.  Anyone conduit that defied this madman ultimately suffered the same fate as a non-conduit being.  

 

But you’re here now.  

 

Everything in your previous life is now left behind including those who you love, but your memories of them still continue to linger within your mind.

 

But that shouldn’t really be a problem.  It’s not like you had many people to trust in your time anyways.

 

Just remember to keep telling yourself that.  It’ll make cutting your losses and moving on a little easier for you.

 

You were a being cursed with power, but there seemed to have been no need for it in this world.

 

The Beast…  The Demon of Empire City…  Cole Macgrath.   He was scum of the earth in your book.  And his followers were no different to you.  Any follower of this madman deserved to drown in a pool of their own blood along with their loved ones.  A small price to pay, but it was always better to think ahead.

 

Your tyranny of totalitarianism and mass murder had come to an end when you finished him off, but at what cost?  Were the sacrifices you made worth seeing him dead?  Did he liberate the human race, or did he just cause it to further regress down the shitter faster than it already was?  Did he really think he was saving humanity or salvaging the human race?  What didn’t he take from you?  What was it you took from others to get what you want?  Were you any different from him?  Why did Kessler decide to-

 

No.  Stop.  It’s over.  It’s done.  That chapter of your life is over.  Let's just forget about it and move on.

 

Besides, dredging up such memories, grudges, and hatred can be bad for your blood pressure and can even be draining sometimes.  Maybe now you can lead a normal and peaceful life; before The Beast’s ‘salvation of the human race’.

 

Well, maybe not a life you’d consider normal, but you’ll settle for peaceful.  Anywhere away from that war torn Hell hole you were from would have been good.

     

Everything has been going pretty smooth so far as of now.  Maybe’s it’s a sign to start over?  Although there are some truths that will have to be covered up.

   

This utopian-like world was now going to be your new life.  And there would be no one to take it from you.

 

Fatigue starts to settle in and you start drifting off to sleep on your cloud-like bed.

 

As time passes, a knock on your door wakes you up.  It didn’t sound like a knuckle hitting the door, but a hoof.  As you stand on your feet and stretch, you walk towards the door while yawning.  

 

“Oh, man!  I could get used to sleeping on that.  Feels good dot jay peg!”  You say while making your way to the door.  

 

The sun was starting to set.  The tranquil sounds of birds and crickets chirping puts you at ease and almost lull you back to sleep.

 

That is until you open the door.

 

“GREETINGS!”  A large blue pony wearing a crown screams at you while inches away from your face.