CHAPTER 1: FROM ABOVE
In the darkness, the world was still. A void filled with nothing more than silence and soundless air; and in that emptiness, he could hear his heart beating against his ribs. It thudded against his rib cage, echoing off the miles upon miles of nothingness surrounding him. Is this what it's like being dead? The thought had never really occurred to him until now. He had never been one for such frivolous notions, but if this is what death is like, what does he have to live for now? Where does one go after they die?
He couldn't say he was particularly religious—not like so many other people—and certainly not like so much of modern society, yet he felt a profound sense of peace at this moment. He wasn't scared or upset, and he didn't feel as though he would have to do anything anymore. He was free of life. At least for now, in this limbo of nonexistence, he was completely and utterly content with the idea of being nothing.
He blinked, and something appeared far away across the horizon. There was no way he could tell what it was exactly, just like he was unable to determine where he ended up either. As time passed by and his eyes followed its progress across the horizon, however, the shapes became more distinct and recognizable. They came together into a shape he could understand quite clearly, and as they drew closer, he realized that they were moving towards him. Said shape morphed into an unfamiliar symbol before finally coming to float in front of him.
It was a strange and holy symbol. He didn't recognize it from any books he had read, nor did he recognize the image on it. It glowed brightly in pale yellow light, and it reminded him greatly of the glow of a candle burning. He wondered why it was floating there in front of him when, aside from the fact that it floated over an expanse of nothingness, it didn't appear to be doing anything. Wasn't it supposed to burn, instead of floating?
Despite being nothing more than a symbol, there was something about the image itself which intrigued him. Something was nagging him in the back of his head, urging him to look deeper into it, further down into the darkness that seemed to have enveloped it. He wanted to see beyond this image, this thing. What lay beneath it, and why was it there?
A chill ran through his body, and he shivered uncontrollably. It was getting warmer—it was always warm—but now it felt almost unbearable as he watched it getting a little brighter. The light exploded and bathed the world around him in pale yellow. It blinded him. The warm sensation continued, intensifying throughout his entire body. He looked around him and notice that everything was going dark.
Throughout the void, a soft voice spoke.
"Its too soon for us to meet, great one," said the voice. "You must be patient; our meeting will come in due time. Be patient, if you survive I will be waiting for you in the clearing of a burning tree." It paused, and then, almost immediately after speaking, all traces of the light disappeared. The warmth was gone.
Then, silence again.
Marcus woke up immediately shielding his eyes with his hands instinctively as if the last remnant of his memory blinded him. Beating wild, he could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage, beating as though he was still living through the last waking moment, even though he vaguely became aware he was no longer in danger. Fresh adrenaline coursed through his veins - eager and waiting for something that would happen, which it already had. Not only was his body motivated to be alert thanks to the adrenaline, but it also sharpened his other senses.
Completely aware he was no longer feeling the dread of incoming physical danger, he placed his hand close to his chest and tried to get his body to slow down. To slowly bring himself out from the last memory.
I'm fine….
I'm okay…
I'm… okay.
Using the right side of his body, Marcus tried to prop himself up with the use of his elbow. Although he could still feel the beating of his heart and the anxiety that lingered, he could sense that he was back in control thanks to concentrating on a different matter.
Unlike minutes ago when everything within him was running rampant, he could feel everything coming to a standstill yet again. With his breath stuck within his throat for god knows how long, he finally exhaled. Marcus had believed all this time that he was specifically on the ground, dying in the coldness of night-time.
What stood before him was nothing to his familiarity.
"What the..." He finally muttered.
This isn't my town, Marcus thought to himself as he stared at the tall trees. Not too far from him was a round crater filled by clear water. Flowers were different, plants he didn't think existed dotted the forest floor in large frequency. What also didn't add up was how different the trees looked. Last he remembered, he was nowhere near any forest of nature before it happened. In fact, he was in the process of returning back home. So why was he in a big forest? But most importantly, how in the world is he not dead?
"Hello?" Marcus called out into the forest. Said forest was empty save for the flowers on the ground, trees, and himself. No animals came to investigate. Not even the birds chirping. Just a quiet forest and the wind rustling of leaves.
A wave of nostalgia washed over Marcus as he gazed around him. It was hard to explain what the nostalgia was, but it felt like his memories of his cousin Taylor were flooding back to him. That's odd. He hadn't seen his cousin in years, and while it was true that they had drifted apart after graduating high school, it was definitely not a gradual thing. He remembered Taylor would always come to visit whenever he had the chance. He'd always be excited to spend time with him when he came to visit. Even when Taylor was studying overseas and couldn't spend all his time with Marcus, he never missed any chance to see him. He knew how important their visits were to him.
Marcus blinked and a brow rose. He had been so distracted with his thoughts that he failed to notice something odd about himself.
His voice sounds deep.
Intimidating was the best word to describe it. He could've sworn it was someone else's voice, rather than his own. But that was until he tried to call out Kaleb's name, and found himself speaking in some foreign accent that sounded a lot like Russian.
He blinked several times. "The hell..?" This was bizarre. Why does he sound like this? What in god's name is going on?
Quickly getting up he planted the sole of his feet firmly against the earth's floor as he stared ahead at the small pond. Without another thought, he quickly made his way towards it and stared at the surface of the water.
Something felt off about him and though he had not sensed it while he laid on the grass, he could very much feel it now as he stood. It wasn't the dirt floor that he walked upon or the woods itself that was throwing him off. Rather It was not only his height that he found to be incredibly disconcerting, but realizing now how his appearance differed from when he was alive.
He wore from head to toe ancient steel armor. Its exterior was worn and torn in multiple places, as though it had been through countless battles and battles fought. An arm-length dagger hung loosely in the scabbard attached to his thigh along with two long knives, one on each side of his belt. He wore the traditional helmet of a knight with his visor closed. A highlighted black and blue cape billowed in the breeze as it fluttered behind him.
Underneath said cape the grip of his sword poked out in a tilt at a downward angle. His boots were coated with dust, blood, and dirt. They were old and worn but sturdy and strong as the knight stood upright. Around his waist was a small cape attached around the back which hung down to his knees.
At the age of twenty-two, he was clearly a fully developed young man, body parts and everything. His physical body, as bizarre as it was to describe it that way, felt somewhat lighter. Cautiously and with his mouth agape under his helmet. He looked back at his reflection and blanched at what he saw.
'Wh-Wha—What the hell?!'
Marcus crawled back to the edge of the pond. Shocked and in disbelief of what he was seeing.
Staring back at him in his reflection was a steel armored knight.
He closed his eyes and took his head in both hands. How… How the hell did I not notice?! He thought to himself. No! Of course I had not noticed it while I laid on the ground and honestly, it was the very last thing on my mind but it was the sight of my reflection that brought my attention to the forefront of my mind. By doing this, he had consciously become more aware of himself, hence the reason he felt off since he got to his feet.
There was no way he could explain what he was seeing, how he came to look like... this! With his arms raised up he grasped on his head, as he stared back at himself. This… This isn't normal, this is way FAR from normal! This has to be a dream. He has to be dreaming, because there's no way he should look like this.
With his trembling hand bawling to a fist, he willed himself to slow down. To take a deep breath and just... breathe. Now is not the time to panic. He just needs to get out of this forest, look for people or a town hopefully.
Hopefully…
Marcus started through the forest. The only sounds filling the air came from shrubs crushed and twigs snapped underneath his weight and the rustle of leaves. The smell of pine and moss permeated throughout the whole area, making the air thick with moisture and humidity.
Suddenly, a loud gurgling croak pierced through the silent atmosphere. The entire ecosystem of the forest shrieked in response. Birds burst through the canopy and spiraled through a clear blue sky as shadow fragments. Before Marcus could lift his head a giant shadow loomed above him.
Marcus was wrenched off of his feet and he hit the ground face-first. He screamed as he was being dragged through the undergrowth, grabbing for purchase. Something had his leg in a vice grip; he struggled against the pressure of whatever it was to no avail.
Marcus shouted, grabbing for purchase until he grabbed none but air. He watched in horror as the earth's floor rushed down. Distancing him three-thousand feet from the ground! Marcus flailed, twisted his torso, and looked up at his attacker. His eyes grew large underneath his helmet as soon as he caught sight of his attacker.
A massive Raven. The mighty soaring behemoth had its right talon locked around his boot, and was steadily carrying him in the sky. It flapped once more to gain a greater altitude and flew over the vast expanse of the forest.
It continued flying past every single tree on its path without stopping. All the while Marcus was screaming and thrashing to escape, but the raven carried on regardless.
Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria, there were two regal sisters who ruled together and created harmony for all the land. To do this, the eldest used her unicorn powers to raise the sun at dawn; the younger brought out the moon to begin the night. Thus, the two sisters maintained balance for their kingdom and their subjects, all the different types of ponies. But as time went on, the younger sister became resentful. The ponies relished and played in the day her elder sister brought forth, but shunned and slept through her beautiful night. One fateful day, the younger unicorn refused to lower the moon to make way for the dawn. The elder sister tried to reason with her, but the bitterness in the young one's heart had transformed her into a wicked mare of darkness:
Nightmare Moon.
She vowed that she would shroud the land in eternal night. Reluctantly, the elder sister harnessed the most powerful magic known to ponydom: the Elements of Harmony. Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her younger sister, and banished her permanently in the moon. The elder sister took on responsibility for both sun and moon….
"... and harmony has been maintained in Equestria ever since." The lavender concluded, looking at the book more closely.
In a grassy field beneath the shade of a drooping willow tree was Twilight Sparkle: the Princess of the sun's most faithful student.
Her lavender fur was nearly groomed and her purple mane with a magenta stripe had been allowed to grow until it spilled over her back curling slightly at the end. She wore her uniform that consisted of a cyan blazer with a magenta bow tie, and a purple pleated skirt. Her uniform also consists of gray knee-length socks with brown boots. Her striped tail laid flat on the ground beside her while her ears were still staring at the book's open page.
Twilight shifted on the grass where she lay under a tree on a small blanket so as not to damage the book she was reading by setting it on the bare grass. Twilight tapped the last page of the book again curiously, looking at the drawing of the Elements.
"Elements of Harmony... I know I've heard of those before... but where...?"
Twilight narrowed her eyes in determination, as though trying to recall something important. She jumped to her feet, quickly shoving the book in her bag, throwing the strap of said bag through both of her shoulders and sprinted down the path.
A/N: Star Shimmering: I'd like to thank every one of my shimmerings so much for the amount of support you have for this story that I publish. I honestly didn't expect this many by the time I woke up. Did you, Triple B?
Triple B Studios: No, I'm just as shocked as you are. Its pretty rare to see one story written by an author be featured.
Star Shimmering: Well, if I have to be honest. All thanks and credits goes to you for lending a hand.
Triple B Studios: Oh it's nothing.
Star Shimmering: I do apologize if this chapter is a bit short for some of you shimmerings taste. :twilightsheepish:
Triple B Studios: But rest assured more chapters will come in the near future. So stay tuned until then! :raritywink:
Star Shimmering: And have a good day!
