A study In Darkness Chapter 1

A Study in Darkness (Chapter 01)

 

(General POV, Countryside surrounding p0nyville, Equestria)

 

> A bright, sunny day.

> Birds chirping, wind whistling, trees swaying, wind roaring...

> Wait...

> Wind roaring?

> Barely a second of calm before the roar intensified, suddenly reaching a peak before falling silent.

> An explosion, flame and dust scattering in every direction.

> The debris stops falling, and the dust clouds settle.

> As the dust falls, so does the silence.

> And then comes the screaming.

 

(First Person POV)

 

> It hurt.

> It hurt SO MUCH.

> I couldn't tell what was on fire and what was broken, or what just plain hurt.

> It didn't matter, though.

> With this kind of pain, I knew I'd soon be dead. I did't know how I knew, I just did.

> Thinking hurt too much. Knowing didn't.

> Surprisingly, the pain began to lessen. It was only slightly, but that was enough to spark something in me.

> Perhaps some twisted, slow-acting form of adrenaline, or maybe my brain just decided enough was enough.

> All that mattered was that I was going to get out of there.

> "There" being the enourmous crater I made in reentry.

> I tried to turn, maybe get a shoulder under myself.

> Bad idea #1.

> I'm pretty sure I rolled over on a broken arm.

> But a bit of pain beats burning in my own self-made grave.

> So I rolled over again.

> The pain. It was astronomical

> But I got on my stomach.

> Bad idea #2.

> whatever happened to me, it left the ground a scorched mess.

> and I had just put my face on it.

> I screamed.

> Nothing else to do, really, but howl in pain and try to claw my way out blind, eyes shut tight from the searing sensation on my face.

> Eventually, even that pain started to dull. Wonderful adrenaline. I wouldn't have been moving still if I was shutting down. would I?

> Then...

> I heard something. Something other than the sound of my own flesh sizzling on the hot stone.

> "I Think it came from over he-"

> A gasp.

> Ah, someone had found me.

> That was good. I was beginning to run out of strength.

> "W-.....What is it?"

> Did the crash deform me that much? I raised a burned, bleeding hand to my face.

> Nope, still mostly human. The burns felt kinda bad, but...

> I heard some some sort of scuffling sound. Someone was at the crater, most likely the lip.

> I raised a hand toward the sound, silently pleading.

> I felt someone grab my hand, and then gave into the creeping fatigue.

> And so I fell deeper and deeper into the welcoming embrace of unconsciousness.

 

> I saw nothing.

> I heard nothing.

> All I could feel was the familiar pressure of liquid over my entire being.

> was I underwater?

> Then, just like that, the sensation faded.

> And with it my consciousness.

> The last thing I caught sight of in this dream, for my eyes were indeed open, was stained glass and stone.

 

 

> I woke slowly, blearily opening my eyes, only to squint them shut again.

> My retinas were on fire.

> It felt like it, at least.

> I turned my head, wincing at the sudden pain. There was a...presence beside me.

> "I-it's awake!"

> Was it the one who helped me?

> Wait... "It?"

> Footsteps, a lot of them.

> "What's it doing?" "Does it talk?" "Let me see!"

> Why did they keep talking about me like I was some sort of...thing?

> Finally, the curiosity got to me.

> Despite the pain, I opened my eyes.

> ....

> Horses.

> vivid, pastel-color horses.

> What in the...

> I assume my thoughts showed on my face, because one of them spoke.  

> "U-um, what are you?" This one was...yellow? Yellow and pink hair. Really?

> Talking horses. Not just pastel-colored, but talking.

> Somehow, I wasn't too bothered by this. I wondered why.

> I opened my mouth to try and speak... and ended up making a sound like a dying frog.

> she seemed to understand, however, and quickly brought a pitcher of water.

> She even put it to my mouth, rather than have me grab it. How sweet.

> One unbelievingly refreshing drink later, I tried again.

"...what are you?"

> The horses looked surprised by this. Was my question that odd?

> "What are we? We're Ponies, of course!"

> Was this one...yes, this one was blue. With rainbow hair. And Wings.

> Wait, the yellow one had wings too.

> What have you done, nature.

> The hors- ponies, they're ponies, looked at each other. They apparently had about as much of an idea of what was going on as I did.

> I decided to break the silence.

"So, you're ponies."

> they nodded.

"And I'm...where?"

> Another one spoke up, this one... Purple. With pink streaks in her hai-mane? Wait, was that a horn?

>" You're in Ponyville. That's the name of this town."

> I shook my head.

"Not the town. Didn't mean the town."

> Now they looked really confused.

> "Well, this is the land of Equestria..."

> Equestria? A world of ponies?

"Is that...this world's name?"

> They shared another look. The purple one gave me a funny look.

> " The name of our...world?"

> Okay, so I guess they didn't have a concept of Worlds. Until now.

> Good job, me.

> I tried to sit up. It hurt, but not nearly as badly as it did before.

"I suppose I have you to thank for rescuing me."

> The blue one shook her head.

> "Nah, that's Fluttershy. She took care of you."

> The yellow one, Fluttershy, made a squeeking sound, and attempted to hide behind the blue one. She seemed even quieter than before.

> "N-no, not me. I-I just.."

> I smiled, or tried to. It seemed to get the message across, because she smiled back, however slightly.  

> I looked at the other two.

"And your names are...?"

> Blue had a cocky grin on her face.

> "I'm Rainbow Dash, the best flier in all of Equestria!"

> So those wings I noticed weren't for show. The Yello- Fluttershy had them too. Huh.

"And you?"

> I looked at Purple, who seemed a bit wary of me.

> "...Twilight Sparkle, Student of Princess Celestia."

> Princess? So this world has a monarchy. Interesting.

> Now they looked at ME, though, as if expecting me to say something. I gave them a funny look.

"What?"

> Rainbow rolled her eyes.

> "We gave you OUR names, so what's yours?"

"My name is-"

> I frowned.

> That...

> Was a good question.

"I...don't know."

> I sat there a few seconds, thinking to myself, just thinking.

> I couldn't remember anything.

> The only thing I COULD remember was the crater.

> NOt anything before that, not why it happened, not even my name.

> the Blue one- Rainbow, gave me a funny look.

> "How do you not know your own name?"

> Purpl- Twilight, Twilight, spoke up just as I was about to answer, much to my appreciation.

> I didn't want to speak at the moment.

> "I think he has Amnesia. It's not unheard of for ponies in terrible accidents to lose their memories."

> Then, as an afterthought,

> "Except, well, he's not a pony."

"No, No I'm not."

> They stared at me.

"I'm... A human..."

> At least, I thought I was.

> They looked at each other, confused looks on their faces.

> "What's a...human?"

> Only natural they'd ask that. Their previous question pretty much led me to think they hadn't seen my kind before.

> Best not to let them know I'm probably not from this planet. Nope.

> I wave my hand over myself, as if to say "this is a human."

> Twilight had this wierd look in her eyes, though.

> I didn't like that look.

> Rainbow was also looking at me funny, but her expression was different. It looked like concern.

> "By the way...are humans supposed to look like that?"

> Look like...what?

> I blinked, then realized she was looking at my face. I turned to Fluttershy.

"Do you have a mirror I could borrow?"

> She nodded, and hurriedly left to search for one.

> I ran my hand down my face, noting the lack of bandages.

> Was I healed already?

> No, there was something...off about it.

> Fluttershy returned with the mirror, a small one about the size of my hand.

> It would do.

> I thanked her and took it, peering into it.

> Huh. Okay, so this was what I looked like.

> An alright chin, sorta thin-faced, somewhat shaggy-haired. I moved the hair out of my face, taking a clear look at myself, checking for...injuries.

> My face appeared fine, actually...on the right side.

> The left side of my face wasn't as well off.

> A long, white scar ran down from my eye to my chin, almost resembling a tear.

> When had this happened? Was this old? New? I didn't know.

> Another question for my growing pile of them.

> Something else caught my eye, though, as for a split second, I saw something I didn't think was possible.

> Had my...eye just...changed color?

> No, it was back to its supposedly normal color, a simple green-brown.

> I slowly put the mirror down. It had most likely been the light. After all, green, brown and...and yellow all look a bit similar, don't they?

> Don't they?

> It took a few seconds, but I managed to crush any panic that may have been welling up with in me.

> Not like panic would have been unexpected.

> I looked at Twilight, an eyebrow raised.

"My face isn't burned."

> Stating the obvious. Nice going.

> She nodded, a large smile on her face.

> "That's right! I used my very best healing spells, even if I wasn't sure they would work, since they're meant for ponies."

> I stared at her, feeling confusion well up within me.

> spells?

> As in magic?

> These ponies could use magic?

> No, Twilight said she used her spells, not that Fluttershy and Rainbow did.

> So perhaps only she could perform magic?

> That was more likely, but at the same time a bit unsettling.

> Magic existed in this world as well, huh?

> Wait...as well?

> Had I seen magic before?

> I didn't remember. Of course.

> I had to hold back a growl of frustration.

> Lacking any memories was quickly becoming a liability. A very annoying one.

> A liability that could get me in trouble in this pla-...

> Where was I, anyway?

> I resisted the urge to smack myself for not taking the chance to look around when I first woke up.

> what if I had been captured by something more hostile?

> So that's what I did.

> I was...

> ...in some sort of cottage, made entirely of wood.

> So this world...country didn't have any real industry?

> Interesting. But also unsettling.

> I didn't know where I was, I didn't know WHO I was, and I was surrounded by talking ponies.

> Did I believe in a god before?

> I couldn't remember.

> Well, if I had, I hoped he owed me a favor.

> Two would have been better.

> Figuring it was best not to dwell on it when I had other things to worry about, I moved on to the next most important topic.

> Myself.

> I looked myself over, trying to go through what amounted to a sort of basic check up.

> Legs? Felt alright.

> Arms? I could lift them alright. My shoulders hurt, but they were tolerable.

> Neck? that was fine, too.

> ...and why was I so cold?

> Looked down.

> No shirt.

> No Pants.

> Only boxer-briefs and bandages.

> I suddenly became self conscious, extremely so.

> Had to overpower the urge to cover myself and scream.

> Instead I only covered myself and coughed.

> Close enough.

> I looked at Twilight, a sour expression on my face.

"Miss Sparkle?"

> "U-um, yes?" She looked a bit flustered. So she realized.

"Was I wearing anything when you found me?"

> She nodded and walked off to fetch whatever it was.

> A bit too quickly to be called clamly.

> Meanwhile, I looked myself over again.

> The bandages seemed to be the only indication of any injury, despite the scar under my eye.

> This confused me.

> I should have been utterly destroyed by what happened, magic be damned.

> Twilight came rushing back, a pundle of black cloth held in her...glow.

> I took it gratefully, unfolding the fabric to find...

> A coat.

> It was rather long, brushing the ground when I held it just below my shoulders, with a hood and two flared hourglass-shaped sleeves.

> I looked it over for a second, my eyes traveling up and down the black lengths of cloth.

> It was ragged. Really, really ragged. I was surprised that parts of it were still there, to be honest.

> It looked kinda cool, though.

> "I...I think it protected you when you...hit." Twilight said, the uncertainty in her voice very clear. "There weren't any burns in the spots the fabric covered, so I assumed it was enchanted."

> So I had a magic coat?

> That was fucking aweso-

> "So I checked it out. I didn't find any enchantments or spells woven into it."

> Oh... so I just had a lucky coat.

> ...Okay.

> The bangles and chain on the hood, however, caught my eye.

> Taking them in one hand, I examined them closely.

> The chain was steel, and the tassles were silver...were those fleur de lis? on much smaller chains.

> They were singed and tarnished, but I could still tell they were made of high quality metal.

> That struck me as odd.

> Who would wear a coat with something like this on it?

> ...I did, apparently.

> Because I put it on anyway.

> Moving on, I picked up the other piece of clothing in the bundle: a pair of pants.

> Just what I had been looking for.

> They were in a similar state to the coat, but that didn't matter.

> My modesty did.

> Fluttershy returned, and I wasn't surprised to learn she had left.

> The pony...pegasus? Was so quiet, it's a surprise I could even hear her when she talked.

> She was holding something else in her mouth, made of a similar black cloth.

> She offered it to me, and I took it.

> Were these... gloves?

> They were damaged beyond all repair.

> Hell, I was surprised I even knew what they were.

> I put them on anyway.

> Then Rainbow came back as well, with something else in tow.

> Was she...

> Yes, she was wearing shoes.

> On her ears.

> "Hey, these things are wierd! How are you supposed to hear with them on like this?"

> She was a bit louder than usual. For good reason.

> I grabbed them off her ears and held them up for her to see.

"Because they don't go on your ears..."

> I put them on.

> "They go on your feet."

> She looked confused.

> "Why would you do that? Isn't that why you have hooves?"

> I shook my head.

> Well, couldn't expect a pony to understand a human when she only just met one.

"No. See, humans don't have hooves. We don't have pads on our feet like other species do, either. So we have...artificial hooves so we can walk places we normally couldn't without hurting ourselves."

> She seemed to get it now.

> Twilight, on the other hand, looked fascinated.

> "Really? Wow, humans must be so resourceful! What are these things made of?"

> I twitched.

> Yeah, no.

> Not going there.

"Um...I don't...remember?"

> Please buy it Please buy it please buy it...

"It's not like you need shoes, anyway, right?"

> She nodded somewhat reluctantly.

> She bought it.

> Now that THAT bullet was dodged...

> I attempted to stand, my legs a little shaky.

> Didn't seem too bad. Hurt like hell to stand, but a far cry from broken. Good.

> "No! you can't get up yet!"

> The ponies tried to stop me, but then again, they were...actually, they were kinda small.

> Fluttershy seemed especially intent on keeping me in bed, since she was actually flying now.

> It would have been utterly adorable, if she wasn't between me and the door.

> I stood to my full height, and for the first time, the ponies realized how big I was.

> I wasn't a giant, but at around six feet, I was a lot bigger than they were.

> I sighed, looking down at the ponies in front of me. They didn't want to move.

> So it fell to me to change their minds.

"Miss Sparkle, Miss Dash, Miss Shy, I am very grateful for your help. Please,d on't think I'm not. However, I NEED to know where I am."

> They still looked skeptical. I guess the politeness wasn't enough.

"Please...I don't know where I am, I don't know WHO I am, and, well, how would you react in my place?"

> That seemed to do it. the girls looked at each other, and seemed to come to a silent agreement.

> Twilight stepped forward.

> "Okay, then. In that case, I'm going with you."

> Oh, that seemed fair.

> Wait, what.

> I tried to go about it diplomatically.

"Miss Sparkle, I'm hardly in need of an escort..."

> It didn't work.

> Naturally.

> With the purple unicorn leading the way, and still a bit unsteady, I made my way to the door.

> I could hear some kind of commotion going on outside. So there were more ponies out there.

> Good to know.

> Well, time to go outside and meet the people.

> Twilight opened the door, which I noticed was glowing purple, and I took my first steps into the land of Equestria.