Authors Note: This chapter is a bit wordy. It is primarily an explanation chapter, giving a bit of back story as well as introducing you to the main character. Feel free to ask questions, I'll answer them as best I can. Also I would appreciate it if you would let me know of any grammar errors I've missed.
I was walking down electric avenue, the cold spring air flowing off the nearby lake, when I heard a woman scream from down an alley. I rushed towards the sound, my protective nature kicking in. As I rounded the corner of the alley I saw something that infuriated me. There were two men in their thirties standing over a woman who looked to be in her late teens. The men were clearly drunk and one of them had Brown hair and what I assumed to be a liqueur bottle in a paper bag. The other man was blond and had a hold of the girl's shirt and was trying to rip it off, she just kept saying;
"Nonononononono…." all the while weeping. As I processed all of this I practically growled and I tap my Bluetooth ear piece and call 911. The phone rings for a second before the dispatcher answers.
"911 what is the state of your emergency?" The dispatcher asked in a calm voice.
"I just came across two thirty year old guys sexually abusing a girl. She looks to be about 18 or 19 with auburn hair, white skin, a red shirt and a matching red ankle length skirt. One man is blond, the other has brown hair. They are both heavily intoxicated and have what appears to be an open bottle of liqueur in a brown paper bag we are in the alley off of electric avenue between the theater and the restaurant."
"Alright sir, police are on their way, please stay on the line until they arrive."
"Of course, I just have to make sure these two don't hurt her." I turn toward the two men and say;
"What do you think you are doing?!" You could clearly hear the venom in my voice.
"None of your business, now fuck off." The blonde man said in a gruff manner, I guess he was trying to be intimidating.
"I don't think so," I say with contempt in my voice. "I've already called the cops, so why don't YOU get the fuck out of here." The brown haired man gets a furious look in his eyes and yells;
"You did fucking what!? I'm going to kill you!" The brown haired man screams in pure fury. He charges at me swinging the bottle wildly. I dodge his wild swings, waiting for an opening and when I see one I reach out and grab his arm and yank him towards me. When he is in range I punch him as hard as I can in his stomach. He doubles over with the force I used, and drops to the ground. He starts throwing up violently, all the while gasping for air.
His buddy seeing this glares at me with hatred in his eyes. He punches the girl hard in the head, causing her head to snap back and slam into the wall behind her. She slumps to the ground either unconscious or dead.
"Why the hell did you do that!?" I yell at the guy, his response is so casual it makes my blood boil.
"Because I could." He then pulls out a three inch pocket knife and brandished it at me. I look at his knife and laugh, and use a classic line from one of my favorite movies.
"You call that a knife?" I reach to the sheath on my right hip and pull out my eight inch survival knife. "This is a knife." My survival knife is a custom forged duel edged knife made out of Damascus steel with 140 layers. It has a through tang ended in a hammer surface, and a serrated edge on the bottom half of one edge. It is heavy enough to chop through underbrush, yet sharp enough to cut most anything. I don't go anywhere without it. The blond man charges at me slashing as he approaches. His slashes are wild, ineffective and leave him wide open. I approach him in a balanced combat stance, ready to dodge or block his attacks. He makes a careless lunge at me, I dodge to one side and as he stumbles at the unexpected lack of resistance I slash at his wrist that holds the knife. My knife cuts deeply into his wrist severing the tendons in it causing him to drop his knife and scream in pain.
He stumbles a short distance clutching his injured wrist. When he looks back up at me his eyes are blood shot and unfocused. He runs at me throwing wide haymakers at me. I easily dodge the first two then block one of his blows and strike him full force in his jaw. I feel the bone break in his jaw as he collapses, knocked unconscious from the force of the blow added with his own momentum. As I'm panting from exertion I hear an ominous click from behind me. I turn around and see the brown haired man has gotten up and has a .38 special pistol pointed at me. I look into his eyes and see pure hatred. He repeats his earlier statement with a cold certainty.
"I am going to kill you." My blood runs cold as he levels the pistol at me. Reacting on instinct I charge at him yelling my lungs out. He is startled by my reaction and his first shot misses. He fires again and I feel a ripping and burning sensation in my stomach. I ignore the pain since I'm on an adrenaline high. He tries to fire again but I'm too close by then and tackle him to the ground. I flip the knife around in my hand so its easier to stab down at him. As we struggle he fires the gun again, and I feel the round pass through my chest. With the last of my strength I plunge my knife into his chest, piercing his heart. He gasps his last breath as I roll off him, feeling the life drain out of me. I had sirens and the shouting of the police. I weakly raise my hand as a medic runs to me. He begins to run to me but I wave him away.
"I'm dead already, help her." I say as I point to the girl slumped against the wall. He nods and runs to help her. An officer tries to ask me questions but I shake my head, barely able to do that. I struggle to reach for my Bluetooth earpiece. The cop removes it and puts it to his ear. As the 911 dispatcher fills the officer in, I begin to slowly fade, the officer seeing this says words I am glad to hear.
"You did good son, the girl will be alright and we will charge the blonde guy and lock him up. Now go ahead and rest, you've earned it." He says all this with a warm and reassuring smile upon his face. I nod and mouth 'thank you'.
"No problem kid." He pats me on the shoulder. As I fade away I think 'I'm only 24 and I'm dead, I gave my life to save another person's life. Feels…. O.k.' As I feel the last of my life ebbing away, I see a blinding flurry of colors cross my vision. When I open my eyes I see a dull grey sky, and I feel grass beneath me. I sit up and begin taking in my surroundings. I appear to be in a featureless grey plain, devoid if all life. As I get up to start looking around four figures appear from a shadow that isn't there. Two are male and two are female, each with a unique look to them.
One of the men has a Scottish Claymore planted in front of him, while he is leaning against a wooden bench with a cask on it. He acknowledges my presence by saluting me with the flagon in his hand. He's wearing an odd mix of clothing. He has a armored kilt on with plate mail greaves and metal reinforced leather boots. He's also wearing a leather jerkin underneath scale-mail armour. He has a thick jet black beard that goes half way down his chest, his arms are well muscled without being bulky. The kind you get from extended hard physical labor, like construction. But he has a warm welcoming smile a upon his bearded face, and gleefully shining green eyes.
The other man is wearing a set of jet black leather armour, it looks almost like a second skin. He has deep set steel blue eyes, with a look of calculating intelligence. His hair and short beard are silver with specks of white. He is sitting on an ebony throne with all straight lines. A feeling of power and confidence radiates from him. He is looking at me as if he can see my soul. The lady to his immediate left is wearing a flowing white dress. She has shoulder length auburn hair, a regal baring and a strip of black cloth across her eyes. She is holding a set of scales with a nimbus of blue energy on one side and a red nimbus on the other.
The woman to her right is extremely striking. She is wearing a skin tight leather corset, a plaid skirt and knee high leather boots. She has flaming red hair and bright green eyes. She has one arm linked with the lady next to her and the other is juggling a set of dice. She has a mischievous grin on her face. As I am taking in all this, the man on the throne beckons me closer. Once I am within a few feet of him he holds up his hand, and says;
"I brought you here before me because you impressed all three of my companions, something that is rarely done. Especially Karmin," he gestures at the lady with the set of scales," she isn't easily impressed." Karmin smiles and nods her head.
"Now you may be wondering why you were brought before us. It is so we can reward you. And so we can reward a being who died trying to get aid for his people who are in danger of being wiped out. We are going to give you a second chance at life, and give the fallen being's mission a second chance of being completed. The details shall be worked out by Agnossis, the gentleman to my right as well as Karmin and her sister Myridia. I shall be taking my leave, there are many tasks to complete." With that he stands up and snaps his fingers, and the throne changes into two beings. One is a skeletal figure wearing old rusted chain mail and a jet black cloak. It holds a scythe in its right hand. The other is what looks to be a Valkyrie, garbed in Nordic armour, and holding a Viking style battle axe. As the man walks away the two figures turn to follow, but the Valkyrie stops and approaches me. When she gets close enough she kisses me on my cheek. As she turns to rejoin her companion she winks at me.
I stand there stunned for a few seconds until Agnossis says,
"Those two fought tooth and nail over who got to bring you before Vorsadin. They finally decided they would both bring you before him. That has happened in the entirety of history only a few times as far as I am aware. Well done."
"Thank you."
"You are very much welcome. Now to the specifics of the reward. You shall be taking the form of a Draconian Prince by the name of Eventide Forge. He is one of the last remaining draconian royalty, and one of the few remaining draconianes left alive. His race has a duty to police and manage the were-creatures of his world. The specifics are very long, so I shall sum it up a little. An egotistical power hungry draconian wizard altered a spell, because of his twisted mind the altered spell created the first were-creatures. Very few predatory species escaped his twisted gaze. Fortunately not all became as twisted as him. The were-wolves, were-vultures and a few others became as twisted as their creator. When the clan chiefs of the various draconian clans found out what he was doing they dispatched some of their best warriors to bring him in.
His crimes were great enough that the Council of Clans, maid up of the ten clan chiefs, decided he deserved to be put to death. Upon hearing this the twisted draconian wizard cursed and raged against the clan chiefs and his fellow draconians. He then cast a cursed version of his spell. It encompassed their entire race, making them were-draconians. The spell consumed all his magic and his very life energy, destroying him completely. During this time of strife a draconian clan chief united his people in their time of need and became king. To get aid for his people he went to King Solaris of Equestria. It took several weeks but King Knight Lance of Draconia, King Solaris and Queen Aurora of Equestria found a way to alter the mad draconians spell.
The altered spell would eliminate most of the ill effects of the curse. But it was decided that the remaining ill effects, such as the forced change and the infectious bite, would fall upon the royal family to bear. Once the spell was altered King Knight lance and King Solaris formed a treaty. The draconians would monitor and police the other were-creatures, because one of their own caused them to be created. In return if Draconia ever needed aid or help, Equestria would do what it could to help its ally. This aid or help could be anything from the lending of troops, sending supplies or even lending experts in various fields such as construction, agriculture and civil engineering. After the treaty was set King Knight Lance took his leave to begin building his kingdom into what it needed to become. During the trip he discovered that he had access to all five draconian breath weapons, as well as that the forced change happens upon the new moon." Agnossis takes a deep draft out of his tankard after that extended speech.
"Now that isn't the entirety of what happened but is enough to give you some context. Now that you have some of the history know this, the campaign against the more twisted and cruel were-creatures is going badly ever since Nightmare Moon was created and banished. Her arrival heightened the strength of the twisted were-creatures. Giving them an edge against the draconian forces. In fact the war goes very poorly for the draconians at this point." A soft, whisper like feeling brushes across my thoughts drawing my attention to Karmin. She has a worried and pained expression upon her face. She gestures me closer, drawing a questioning look from her sister. Karmin nods and pats her sisters hand. Noticing the confused look upon my face Myridia says;
"She normally doesn't let men get to close to her. Or talk to anyone but me for that matter. I can guess why she is doing so now. But I will let her tell you" Karmin gestures to me again so I step closer, almost to the point I could reach out and touch. I notice her grip tighten on her sisters arm so I stop and take a small step back. She nods her thanks, and begins to talk in a soft whisper.
"The reason I am talking to you is because you is because you saved that girl from one of the worst things that can happen to a woman. And you did so without a thought, either to a possible reward or the possible danger. Even when you knew you might get shot and die you didn't think about running away, instead you charged. And as you lay dying you sent the medics to help the girl instead. You could have been saved if you hadn't sent them to help her. You are a noble man. I wish a man like you had been there for me." A signal tear falls down her cheek, seeing this I open my arms, offering a hug. She looks stunned for a moment, then breaks down and hugs me, crying silent tears into my shoulder. I hold her gently but firmly, comfortingly stroking her hair and back while whispering words of comfort into her ear. A look of surprise comes over both Agnossis and Myridia. Seeing this I softly say so as to not disturb Karmin;
"Never underestimate the power of a comforting hug. It has great healing powers." Agnossis breaks out in a grin and says;
"That's what I like about you. You can easily go from a man ready to do violence to a man who can offer comfort were needed. You are a man of action, you don't sit idly by when something must be done. That is why I recommended you to Signaisus, I felt that you would be the right choice." Myridia touches the shoulder not occupied by her sister and says;
"I recommended you because you could have just called the police and stayed out of it. In stead you took a chance to save her, risks and all. I like a guy who takes chances, you faced two to one odds and still rolled the dice. You could have given up when that man pointed a gun at you, instead you pushed your luck. I liked that so I caused his first shot to miss. You really know how to flirt with Lady Luck don't you." She winks at me and continues.
"You are also the first guy to get my sister out of her shell. I'm guessing you figured out what happened to her?" I nod my head, and Karmin holds me tighter. I resume stroking her hair.
"Well it was my fault. I got in major debt to some bad people because of my gambling. I was always good at games of luck, but I tried my hand at betting on games of skill. I sucked to put it bluntly. So when I couldn't pay my debts and couldn't find me, they went after my sister. They chocked her, beat her, abused her and finally blinded her. When they chocked her they damaged her vocal cords. She can only speak in a whisper now. And its my fault." She begins crying too and I shift Karmin to my left arm and hold out my right. Seeing this she cries even harder and practically tackles me. I rap her in my arm and start whispering in her ear.
"Its okay. It wasn't your fault. You are not responsible for others actions. You made a mistake. Does your sister blame you for what happened?" In response I get a violent head shake from Karmin and a more gentle shake from Myridia.
"Then you have to stop blaming yourself. You cant change the past, only your future. You still have your sister. Now buck up, your sister needs you." I give Karmin a gentle squeeze and say;
"She needs you too." Karmin nods, and both her and Myridia let go of me and latch on to each other. They begin to whisper to each other. I walk over to a grinning Agnossis, he offers me a tankard and I take a sip. It turns out its mead and I take a deep draft of it.
"I love this stuff. This tastes like what you can get back in Europe."
"Yep, this is made from a recipe from back before the first Viking arrived in the Americas. I miss that time."
"So anyways what are the specifics Signaisus mentioned. From the Nightmare Moon and Equestria reference I assume I'm going into the world of My little Pony Friendship is Magic?"
"Indeed you are. We assumed you wouldn't mind."
"Of course not. I've thought of what it would be like to live in Equestria. I cant believe I'm actually getting the chance to go there."
"Yep. So like Signaisus said earlier, you shall take the place of a Draconian Prince, one of the last remaining royals. He was on a mission to get aid from Princess Celestia, but was ambushed by a mix of were-wolves and were-vultures. He managed to kill or injure most of the were-vultures and kill all of the were-wolves, but his right wing was injured and a were-vulture completely broke the other wing as he attempted to escape. He fell to the ground in a wooded area and died on impact. You are going to take his place, and we are going to repair some of the damage done to his body so that you will have a fighting chance. You shall receive all of his knowledge and his powers. You will also keep most of your knowledge. We will remove most of your knowledge of Equestria, because we are sending you in just after Twilight Sparkle becomes a princess. That way you wont be tempted to alter events."
"That is reasonable, it kind of sucks, but I cant say for certain I wouldn't use my foreknowledge."
"Good. Now the wooded area that Prince Eventide Forge fell in was almost to the edge of the Everfree Forest near Ponyvile."
"Cool, some of the first ponies I'll see will be the mane six. Wait a second, wont those were-vultures still be after me as the Prince? If so the ponies will be in danger if I don't deal with them quickly. Crap."
"You are correct. Unfortunately we can not change that. It will be up to you to do what you can. Once the ladies rejoin us we will send you on your way."
"Sounds good to me." We drink a few more tankards of mead as the ladies finish talking things out. They come over and Agnossis and hand them each a tankard. They accept them and take a cautious sip. Karmin takes an instant liking to the brew and takes a large draft. Myridia doesn't like it as much as her sister so she drinks it a little slower. The ladies thank me and give me a quick hug after we finish our tankards. Agnossis stretches and says;
"Well guys, its time we get this done." They ladies nod and set down their tankards. All three of them focus on me, and a nimbus of energy surrounds me. As the glow grows brighter the ladies wave goodbye and Agnossis raises a tankard. I smile hoping I will see them again in the distant future.