A New Dawn (Act I, part 1)

A New Dawn (Act I, part 1)

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In accordance with royal decree number something or other, I, anonymous, am to record all of my experiences since having entered this empire of Equestria. Though I’ve been told that this document is to create a historical record for posterity, I have a sneaking suspicion that it may just be for my dear sovereign's personal amusement, so I’m going to dispense with the formalities. If you’re reading this, princess, you owe me one.

>My very first memories are a blurred mess. My vision was obscured by a great, blinding flash, and I could feel my knees hit a cold stone floor.
>Though my ears were ringing, I could hear some sort of commotion going on. Hooves shuffling about, soft mutterings, and above them all, one concerned voice going on about “standing ground” or somesuch.
>I wobbled forward and groped for something to steady myself. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get my bearings and fell.
>I could now make out a half dozen smallish figures and one larger white one, all staring right at me. Still, consciousness was fading fast, and I mumbled out some slurred apology for imposing before blacking out.

>”Ay, up at at-em!”
> Some... hoof was shaking me. I decided it was best to obey the voice, and dragged myself off the ground.
> Looking around, I noticed that I was in some stone stone, circular room. The place felt ancient, and the surrounding wall was emblazoned with murals. A great dome adorned with even more engravings capped the room.
>“You can see me, can’t you? Come now, chop-chop!”
>I quickly looked down, and then found the source of the voice
>Right in front of my was a white pegasus, clad with golden armor and wielding a short spear. He seemed to be some sort of legionary, or… royal guard?
>He might of even been imposing, if it weren't for the fact that he was barely higher than my waist height.
>The pegasus spoke again: ”Alright, time to get a move on. Follow me now-”
>I did as instructed, and the two of us walked through more ancient halls. After a minute we exited the stone structure, and I could see a majestic castle about a mile away.
>”That’s our destination, I’m sure you’ll get all set up with a room and I just know-”
>The pony, who I later discovered was in fact royal guard, talked too much. Oh well.
>Still, one thing disturbed me. Even though we were now in broad daylight and clearly in a safe land, the guard seemed… nervous.
>As we moved along the dusty road, the guard uttered one interesting snippet
>”-and you seem like an alright sort, I mean, at first I thought I was a goner, but-”
>I interrupted.  “Who are you, why are we headed to this castle, and what’s going on?”
>The pony bowed toward me, still talking all the while ”Name’s Laurence, sir, and you’ve been summoned by our royal highness prince-
>”I’m not in trouble, or anything, right?”
>Laurence looked away from me and muttered “it’ll all get sorted out I’m absolutely sure that-”
>As he kept talking, we reached the gates. After ascending a flight of stairs and marching through a couple halls, Laurence brought me to a small, but cozy room.
>There was some pretty furnishings, but most impressive was the room’s view. I looked out and could see for miles. Towns and farmlands stretched out into the horizon.
>”Your room, sir, please just wait here and I’m sure that you’ll have an audience with the royals shortly, and-
>I continued staring out the window until I overheard Laurence say “-and thanks again for not killing me, just ring if you need-”
>Huh. Laurence was an odd sort.
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>After about an hour of lounging in my room I heard a knock on the door, and a messenger pony walked in.
>Our royal highness, princess Celestia, would normally request that you join her in the royal throne room. However, due to unforeseen circumstances and the natural complexities of the current situation, she will converse with you here shortly.”
>Before I could ask any questions, or even wonder why I was getting an audience with the local royalty, the princess stepped in.
>The princess was striking. She seemed to have an effortless elegance as she strode into the room. Everything about her look and demeanor screamed “royalty”.
>She had a white coat, and a ever-flowing mane that gave off the colors of the rainbow. Even more, she was a few inches taller than me, the only living thing I had encountered over three feet high.
>Despite her commanding presence, her face seemed accustomed to smiling and laughter. Still, right now she had a serious look and a furrowed brow.
>She sat on a stuffed chair on the other side of the room, and looked inquisitively at me for a few seconds before speaking ”Your name?”
>”Just call me anon, your majesty.”
>”Anon, do you know why you’re here?”
>”Actually, no. I was hoping that you could enlighten me”.
>”Well in that case, be ready to head out tomorrow morning, six o'clock sharp.” with that the princess began to stand and moved as if to exit the room.
>Before she could leave I stood. ”Wait! That guard acted strange, nobody here looks like me, and now you’re shipping me off somewhere? At least let me know what’s going on!”
>Celestia sighed, and sat back down. She glanced over at me sadly.
>”Anon, look out this window. What do you see?”
>”Well, a city, towns, fields-”
>The princess interrupted. “I’m not asking for a map. What do you see?”
>I stared out the window, looking at the small figures running around in the town square. “I see a happy land. The people look content and the place seems peaceful. Even the guard earlier seemed friendly, perhaps a bit too much. You seem to have created a paradise, really.”
>The princess smiled weakly. “Thank you, It’s not easy. Sadly, this land is naturally… somewhat less peaceful. I’ll be quick: The only way that I’ve been able to protect my subjects and create this place of harmony is through magic.”
>”If I did nothing, evil would gradually begin to seep into this world. There will always be some leaks, but through magic, I am able to stop most of them. Thus, every hundred years, I go down to the old ruins, with several guardsmen.”
>My blood began to run cold after hearing about the ruins.
>”There, I perform an ancient arcane ritual that traps the evil trying to enter our land, and focuses it into one single entity. At the dawn of the century, my power if just great enough to dispel the darkness, and stave off catastrophe and violence for one hundred more years.
>I shivered. “That sounds like a wonderful system, but why are you telling me this?
>The princess looked away from me. “Yesterday, I performed the ritual, and it failed. Rather than a physical manifestation of evil, I got you.”
>Oh
>Well, that would explain the nervous guard
> I slunk down in my chair and stared at the floor.
>”You, anon, do not seem truly evil, but… some of it flows in you. I can sense it in your heart- fighting, hurting others is a part of your very nature. You don’t belong here. Tomorrow morning, I plan on dispelling you, and beginning preparations for the coming storm.
>Oh
>”Well, anon, see you tomorrow.”
>I slept kinda badly that night
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>The next morning was kinda feverish. Getting up, getting ready for the day, all of it felt surreal, knowing that I would be… “dispelled”, whatever that meant. I wondered briefly it it was a euphemism in the vein of getting “disappeared”, but the ponies seemed too amiable to that kind of thing.
>It wasn’t long before we set out. Celestia, Laurence, and a few other guards walked in front of and behind me. Though I wasn’t chained, the chances of escaping seemed slim to none due to Celestia’s magical prowess.
>We entered the ruins, and strode through some familiar halls. As I pondered what dispelling would feel like, we reached the same circular room as before.
>Yesterday, the center of the room had been old rock floor. However, now there was a depression filled with light glowing blue mix of, well, something. It looked like the dispelling stuff got set up overnight.
>The princess looked over at me. “This is it. Anon, please step into the portal.”
>I was contemplating making a break for it, but before i could run Laurence shouted something
>CHANGE-lings?
>Out of another hall, six forms appeared. They looked like some mix of pony and bug, which was bad enough already, but something seemed… off. Mangled looking spikes jutted out of their bodies, and some black oze leaked from connecting points in the carapace. The eyes were a dark blackish blue color.
>The guards and princess seemed surprised, but only for a moment before the ‘change-something or others’ jumped us.
>In the commotion of battle, I started to duck away and head of the exit. I could almost taste freedom.
>Just as I was about to make a run for it, I heard Laurence cry out for help. I looked back, and saw the pony obviously losing his fight against the bug monstrosity. The bug monsted had torn away his spear, and looked ready to tear off his face if nobody intervened.
>Before I could think too hard about what a stupid idea it was, I ran back toward Laurence, scooped up the dropped spear, and thrust it as hard as i could at the monster.
>I expected it to bounce of the bug’s chitinous armor, but instead, my blow went right through. Huh.
>I looked around, and saw that the others were struggling. The princess was clearly a powerful force and had killed one of the bugs, but the royal guards were faring poorly. Why was everyone else having so much trouble? It felt like I was cutting through wet paper.
>I sprinted toward one monster that was fighting Celestia, and before it could turn, I thrust the spear straight into it. Again, the tough looking thing went down surprisingly easy. I felt some sort of… rush after killing the thing. It felt oddly good. Probably just adrenaline, though, I said to myself.
>Having lost half their number, the bug things retreated, disappearing down the dusty halls of the ruin.
>As the guards began to tend to the wounded, the princess looked at me quizzically, either unsure why I stayed or surprised that I fought well enough to not get munched by the bugs. Probably both.
>Regardless, I saw this was my chance.
>”Your highness Celestia, I’d really rather not be banished from this land. It’s a nice place, and I’m willing to serve the kingdom-
>Celestia cut me off, mumbling something about “not really belonging” or something. Still, I could see she was uncertain.
>”I’ve only acted in good faith, and all that I’m asking for is a little trust and a little mercy. Isn’t that what friendship’s all about?”
>Celestia sighed and looked away. “Fine. You can stay.”
>I smiled, gave my eternal gratitude, and along with the others headed back towards the castle.
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>KNOCK KNOCK
>”Sir, it’s past six o'clock! You’ll be late for your appointment!”
>Ugg. Great start to the day. Still, couldn’t miss a royal summons, especially on the first full day in this new land.
>”I’m coming!” I rushed to get ready, and five minutes later burst out the door, nearly knocking over a very displeased messenger pony.
>She sneered, mumbled something about “the youth of today”, and began to trot off through the halls. I followed.
>After a minute, we reached what was presumably the main hall, a massive construction. The huge pillars, the ornate banners; it was beautiful.
>At the far end of the hall, near the throne, there was a massive commotion. Many ponies were organizing… something. A few were examining a wall mounted map, while others discussed the present situation in hushed tones.
>As I began to approach the crowd, the messenger coughed. I looked over, and noticed that Celestia had begun to address the crowd.
>Her speech was a rousing one, but I didn’t get what was going on.
>The messenger must of noticed my blank expression, because she began to explain.
>Evidently, the “changelings” from yesterday were more vicious (and more armored) than usual.
>The royal court was in a panic over the situation-
>”Oh, anon! There you are!”
>The princess stopped her speech to beckon for me to walk over. All conversation stopped, and every eye in the room was trained on me.
>”Everyone, this is Anonymous, the solution to our problem!”
>what
>”Give a warm welcome to our newly arrived royal changeling hunter!”
>oh no
>The entire room erupted into cheers and applause, ponies were smiling and praising the wisdom of their leader.
>I could feel my stomach drop about a foot.
>The princess rose and smiled. “And with that, you are all dismissed! Except you, anon.”
>I slowly walked up to the throne as most of ponies others headed out to their daily routines. I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d live through the week.
”Erm, your majesty, what exactly is going on?”
>Celestia smiled. “It seems that everypony interpreted yesterday’s little battle as an assassination attempt on yours truly. I can take care of myself, of course, but the nobles wouldn’t hear of it…”
”And exactly why did you chose me?”
>”Well, you fought quite well yesterday. You seem like some sort of warrior, and seeing as you’re not busy right now...”
>I considered that my other career choice involved being cast into some unholy portal and bit my tongue.
“And does anyone care that I’m here because of some botched ritual?”
>”Well, I took the liberty of informing everypony that you are Sir Anon, hailing from a very, very far off land, the details weren’t that important.
“And don’t YOU care that I’m here because of some botched ritual?”
>”Oh silly, you’ve done nothing but help defend the realm so far.” Her expression darkened: “And if you DID think about running amok, well, that’s what moon prison’s for.”
>A blue pony sitting nearby began to shiver at the mention of “moon prison”. It didn’t sound lik a nice place.
>Celestia beamed. “Now off to your first assignment, go make some friends!”
“How is that even remotely related to mons-”
>”You can start in the guard barracks if you wish! I’ll be waiting for progress reports!”
>I sighed, and began to walk off. It was going to be one of these days.
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>The barracks was a quaint little wooden building. About a dozen ponies were milling around inside when I opened the door.
>As soon as I entered, a couple inquisitive faces turned towards me. One guard piped up
>”Oy, anon, how’d you manage to beat back those changelings the other day?”
>It seemed like a perfect opportunity for some comradely, so I began to explain.
”Well, I noticed some weak spots in their armor, then used the spear to skewer…”
>The room was silent, and all eyes turned toward me
“Did I say something?”
>A guard glared at me. “Well, we mostly try for non lethal takedowns, seeing as it’s hard to teach the value of friendship to a corpse.”
>Everyone seemed less than amicable, and I hurried to explain the situation.
“These creatures, whatever you call them, were monsters. They couldn’t reason. They couldn’t think. They only wanted to kill.”
>”But in the past…”
“That’s the past. Those things from yesterday were vicious, and you’ll have to kill them or risk the lives of every citizen of Equestria.”
>A different guard chimed in. “Sir, some of us are still a bit… squeamish, when it comes to blood, and you expect that we’ll be in life or death battle?”
>oh boy
“Well, you’ll need to prepare fast, maybe try helping at the town’s butcher shop or something.”
>”Butcher?”
“Yeah, you know, place where animals are prepared for eating?”
>”Y-you eat animals?”
>It was too late. Before I could respond, the guardsponies had already started eyeing me nervously and slowly backing away. One of them made a break for it and literally flew out of the room.
>I sighed, and got up to leave. So much for making friends.