A/N: This is my first story submission and my first real attempt at writing a full story with a beginning and end. Let me know what you think of it in a review.
"Be glad you've got me…" I mutter to my best friend and roommate, Dana, now passed out from drinking too much (again). We aren't dating, by the way. Everybody seems to think that. The main reason is because she's a lesbian.
I set her in the passenger's seat of my car. I struggle a bit to put the seat belt on her. She's got a bit of vomit coming from her mouth already. I guess seven beers in 45 minutes will do that. Knowing Dana, she probably snuck in a few more when I wasn't looking. After wiping off the vomit, I remind myself to get her to stop this habit of hers.
I move over to the driver's side. I've been having to drive Dana for a little over a year now. I start up the car and turn on the radio. The digital clock on the dashboard says 11:56 PM.
I drive down the street towards our current home. I'm really tired and there usually isn't too much traffic on this route, so I don't bother putting my own seatbelt on. On the radio, the song Detroit Rock City by Kiss starts to play. It's always been a favorite song of mine, so I turn it up. Maybe it would help wake Dana up?
A red light forces me to stop the car. After a few seconds, the car forces itself forward. I barely get a chance to look at the rear view mirror to get a look at the car that hit mine. My right arm thrusts itself towards Dana to keep her still, even though she has the seat belt on. I look to my left to see a truck T-bone my fragile car. Pain pierces into my entire left side and glass digs into me.
My car flips onto its roof. I reach to my face to take out some pieces of glass. The pain just from moving my arm tells me that it's broken. I look around. My eyes drift to Dana. There's barely any visible damage to her, except for a few cuts on her face. Cuts that would heal quickly, unlike my arm.
I reach for my door with my uninjured arm, but it doesn't open. The impact from the truck probably broke something in the door. I kick the door a few times, but nothing happens.
I start to kick the window. It shatters after a few kicks. I'm in a terrible position to get out of my car. Putting the seat belt on would have been a good idea in hindsight.
The passenger side door opens and something pulls Dana out of the car. I turn to see a girl with black hair and white clothes. She smiles at me.
Suddenly, a large flash blinds me and my vision fades to white. I see a faint gray silhouette. I try to move my head, but the silhouette doesn't move. I can't tell if I didn't move or if I did and the silhouette moved with me.
"Mark Cleveland." A voice calls out from the silhouette. I don't recognize the voice but can tell it belongs to a female. "I am Epona." Epona? I've heard that word somewhere. "I am the goddess of harmony, honor, nobility, and peace." A goddess. I'm definitely dreaming.
"Well, Epona, why are you here?" I ask, deciding to go along with what my dream wants me to do.
"I'm here to offer you a chance." Epona says. She notices my hesitation to respond. "A chance at...rebirth, if you will. A new life." I'm caught off guard by this. Her statement briefly stuns me, but I come to my senses.
I chuckle a bit. "A new life? I don't believe you. I'm not dead or whatever."
"Yes you are, Mark Cleveland. Your accident killed you. You are dead."
"Prove it." I ask, still not believing the one that claims to be a goddess.
"Your friend survived the accident." Epona says without any hesitation.
This takes me off guard. How could she know if Dana survived? I don't want to believe that I'm really dead, but I have to. I look at where the voice of Epona is coming from. The silhouette still doesn't move. "Y-You're telling the truth. I'm dead." My voice is faint from this sudden revelation.
"To repeat myself, I'm here to offer you a chance at a new life. If you accept, you will be sent to my home world." Epona says. A light comes from above her head. The light illuminates the area so I can clearly see her. She's a large white unicorn. Her mane is long, flowing, and black that looks like a dress. She looks like that girl I saw after the crash. I notice what looks like a tattoo with a sword and shield on her...thigh? Flank? Whatever it's called. The location of the light keeps me from getting a good look at the tattoo. It takes me some time to notice the wings on her side that blend into her coat. I stare at the unicorn with wings. "Do not be alarmed, Mark Cleveland. There will be many more like me in your new home, should you choose to accept my offer."
"A world with unicorns? What the hell…" I say. The latter sentence comes out of my mouth on its own.
Epona looks at me with what I assume to be disgust. "I am no mere unicorn. I am an alicorn." She flaunts her wings. "Not all of my kin will be alicorns. There are indeed some, but most will be unicorns, pegasi, or earth ponies."
I understood some of what she said. "Uh...Okay?"
The alicorn sighs. "But yes, you have died in your world." She seems to stutter a bit on the word 'died', as if she doesn't understand what it means. "I am giving you the chance to live a new life in my world." The way she said that makes it seem like she made the planet she wants to send me to.
"Wait, you said you were a goddess, right?" She nods. "Does that mean there are others? Just the way you said it makes it seem like there are."
Epona nods. I think I see her frown. "Yes, there are other deities within my pantheon. Many have been lost in time, but some remain. I am one of them." Alright, that works as an answer. "Do you accept my offer?"
The alicorn seems impatient. Since I apparently died and I've never had any beliefs of afterlife, I decided quickly. "I accept."
Epona straightens her body. Her horn lights up quickly. My vision fades to white.
When I wake up, it feels like I haven't had anything to drink in a week. My throat is dry as a desert. I look around. There are trees all around me, except the clearing to my left. The trees are short enough for me to clearly see the blue sky. There isn't a single cloud.
The usual sounds of my home aren't there. No cars driving. No people talking. No construction. Nothing. Just silence. The silence is deafening. I'm used to the sounds of Seattle.
Determined to find some sort of life besides plants and insects, along with sound, I stand up. A wave of vertigo surrounds me and I nearly fall over. I catch myself on a tree and almost throw up. I try to remember what happened for me to get here.
The car crash is the first thing to enter my mind. The memory lingers in my thoughts for what feels like hours. The horrible memory eventually shifts to black, then the words from that… winged unicorn. Alicorn. Whatever.
It sent me to this place. It didn't even bother telling me the name of this place. The name of the creature returns to my mind. Epona.
My legs wobble as they try to move to another tree. It takes some time to get my legs to work normally.
I empty my pockets to see if I had anything with me. I did, and everything I had with me during the car crash was with me now. The solar charging iPod that my brother gave me, headphones, a small foldable knife, my wallet, some hard candies, a cigarette lighter, and a pen. I put the headphones in my ears and turn on my iPod. The first song to play is Led Zeppelin's Immigrant Song. How fitting.
It slowly dawns on me that I'm in the middle of a forest with no exit in sight. How far away is civilization? Is there even any in this place?