Prologue. Rat In The Dark. --

I didn't know what was happening, all I did know was that I was hurt, and couldn't move. I was lying on the pavement beside the sidewalk. I remember pushing some kid out of the road when he ran out in front of a bus. I don't see anyone coming to see if I'm alright. I'm also in a lot of pain. The whisper of voices were all around me, but one voice was heard above the rest.

Ragnarock.

Am I dead?

"Oh my look at you, I bet you didn't see this one coming did you?" I had no idea who was talking but the voices ceased for a moment as this eerily high pitched and maniacally happy voice spoke as if seeing me in the middle of the road, unmoving, and in a puddle of my own blood was a everyday thing to him. Why the hell isn't he calling for help?

He speaks again, but this time his voice is different. "Well that would defeat the purpose of us being here, wouldn't it?" What was he talking about? I don't understand what going on. Why does his voice sound different now? It’s a bit deeper than before.

"That’s because there’re two of us, silly," said the first eerily happy voice.

Two of you?

"Well, two and one can be seen as two sides of the same coin. You know, this will go a lot faster if you just talk like every other sane human being,” the eerily happy voice continues.

Sarcasm is not what I need right now. Didn't I just get run over by a double decker bus? But wait, how does he know what I'm thinking? "Why are humans so slow,” said the second voice in frustration.

Something grabs me by my shoulders and pulls me to my feet. "What the fuck..." I hear my voice speak out loud. I can talk again... but why?

"Okay, boy, now I'm sure you don't get this everyday so we'll use small words so you can keep up, understand?" the second, deeper voice says as a figure walks by.

I resist the urge to trip him.

I turn around and ...ok, not a guy. I see two cats looking back at me. I can't help but stare at them. What the fuck... are they?

"Weird..." I say without thinking as I keep staring at the two cats that are looking back at me. The one on the left has a happy expression on it’s face so comical that it bordered on cartoony. It gives me a big toothy grin. It has big blue eyes and is covered from head to toe in fluffy purple striped fur. But what I can’t take my eyes off of was it’s sharp teeth. Lot's and lot's of teeth.

The cat on the right, on the other hand, is nothing like the other fat looking fluff ball. It has no fur to speak of. It’s so skinny I think you would see it bones. It also has what looks like tattoos all over it’s body. But the most creepy thing about it is it’s small yellow eyes and what looks like blood on it teeth. Human teeth... yea, the uncanny valley is strong with this one, so close to real that it was creepy.

"Okay, let me start by saying... Who, or what, the hell are you two?!" I yell as I can't help but keep staring at them. I slowly start to freak out. They’re cats yes, but I don’t understand what’s happening as I look around and see everyone around the street. They were just frozen, as if time had stopped just for them. And those cats... they can TALK!, Cat's don’t talk!

I can see half of them looking where I am and the other half look as if they’re calling for help. But the odd thing was... everything was in black and white.

"A deal of a lifetime, some would say. Here’s where you can start a new life and go to a new world. This kind of thing don’t happen everyday you know?" Said the chubby cat.
“‘Doesn’t’, you ingrate. Doesn’t happen very day,” replies the creepy cat with an annoyed expression.
“Grammar Nazi!”
“Grandstander!”
“Numbskull!”
“Numbnuts!”
“Alright!” I yell. My vision is fading. Apparently I don’t much time before something happens.
Whatever needs to happen needs to happen quick. I need info. "Before I agree to anything I want you, the both of you to make some things clear for me." The creepy cat’s face contorts in disgust. He didn’t like that one bit, but he nods at me as if to say continue.

"Okay silly man with nowhere to go, what is it that you would like to know?" Asks the fluff ball with still far too much happiness. I think long and hard as I get my list of questions set up in my head. I start to sway on my feet. Not too much longer. "You say I'm not dead... then what am I? What happened?" The creepy cat smiled with glee. It was hideous.

"Let’s say that... before you got hit by that garish monstrosity over there that we did something to your soul to make it linger a bit longer to... talk for a bit,” the creepy cat said before slowly pacing around me. “We have a bit of an interest in you. We want to send you to a new world, rife with plenty of turmoil and strife. You may choose to stay if you wish, but know this; to stay here means certain death."

Well that sucked, thanks a lot creepy. So my choices are to be sent off to god knows where to an unknown place, or stay here, arguing with these cat creatures, and die... But I need to know something else.

"How badly hurt was I?" I ask the two of them as they give me funny looks. One looks uninterested as the other just smiles. "Let me put it this way, all the king's horses and all of his men couldn't put you back together again, even with help,” said the creepy cat again.

"So in other words I'm fucked." He nods. "What will happen if I agree to all this?" At this the fluffy cat smiles. I don’t like it. It just doesn’t feel right for this cat to be smiling like that. With that many teeth.

"Well to start with you could be anything you want! A Bird, Wolf, Fox, Minotaur, Dragon, Rat or Cat, why even a unicorn, fish or a mat. But like everything else you'll be naked. It only fair after all, those are the rules. And yet at the same time there are no rules." That gives me almost no help. I feel myself losing all sensation. This is it.

"Wouldn't mind being a rat. Anything else I should know before we do this, like where I will be going?" The two cat's smile at me with big grins. "Just three..." They say at the same time. Okay forget what I said before, they're both creepy. "If you ever need our help just call out cheshire cat three times and we will appear, Or not at all, heh heh."

Just like beetlejuice. Why am I getting a bad feeling about this? "And the other two things?" I'm not sure I can trust these two. "You will be sent in to a city where we know you will survive and just so you know a... higher power will be keeping an eye on you,” said the fluff ball.

"And the other,” said the creepy cat, as if to draw out the words as long as it can, as if it’s finding enjoyment from dragging things along. "Have you heard of a show called my little pony? The one about the land of harmony, tolerance, and love? Well, have you ever wondered what’s on the other side of the world? Goodbye and good luck, you're going to need it." It finished with a grin that threatened to split it’s face.
The legion voices whispering in the background came back, right before the darkness overtook me.

Ragnarock.

Before I can say any more, everything goes dark and I feel nothing. What the fuck really? god must hate me or something. I then start to feel something flat, hard, and... is it wet? is that a puddle of water I'm laying in? Why am I lying in a puddle? And it’s... COLD!

I shoot up onto my hands and knees as fast as I can, but as soon as I open my eyes I realize something’s wrong. I have a finger missing on both my hands as I look at them, or rather... they look like they were never there. Not only that but I have black fur covering my arms and the rest of my body. I feel something new, like a muscle I never knew I had, and I look behind myself and see that I have a tail. It has no fur, neither does my hands from the wrists up and feet from the ankles down. I look at my legs, where they are now longer and jointed as if it belonged to a dog’s back legs. I might have handled all of this better if I had clothes. My brain did not appreciate all this new information.

‘Okay freaking out time, NOW! Also I have a freaking TAIL!’ I think frantically.

Everything about this new naked body feels different. My ears are bigger, that’s a given. I can hear the sounds of a city around me. It slowly dawns on me that this was not where those two said I would end up, as this was no city I was used to, nor one where I knew I could survive. I’m in an alley of some kind, but it’s dark. I can see lights ahead though, most likely lanterns. Okay, I have no idea where I am or what’s going on and my head hurts. Awesome...

I stand on my new feet and try to get my balance using the wall to help me stand. I pass by a small window with no light on inside and see my reflection in it. I look like a rat, but my eyes are glowing yellow. I’m a bit creeped out by that, but I don’t have time to think about this. I need something to wear and a place to stay. The chill of the air gets me so cold that I'm surprised I haven't started getting hypothermia yet. My shivering stops... Oh wait, there it goes! Shivers are the first to go, followed quickly by...

I put that from my mind. So where to go from here, and what are my options? I look up to see if I can see any stars only to see nothing but rock and more lights. That’s when it hits me. I’m in a massive cavern of an underground city.

Massive cragged walls surround me in a ceiling that has to be at least a thousand feet high, supported by natural wall forming and a single support going through the middle of the city. I see a waterfall that rests a little off to my right that feeds into what I can only imagine is a drinking supply. I follow the river down a bit to see it flow past my position. An upper echelon of stone towers and mansions with parthenon style architecture with darker hued stones surround me. It looks aged enough to suspect that it’s been here quite a while. The mansions, temples and the rest of the upper-class style architecture forms what looks like a huge circle a good football fields in diameter. From there the upper level drops off in a sharp cliff of about twenty or so feet into what looks like common housing. Homes and shops made of dark looking stone surround the city for what has to be miles and is even built into the cliff-like walls in some sections.

I stumble around in awe. Never before have I seen anything like this. Nothing in the human world would even be capable of building something like this. I feel a shiver start to permeate my fur. I don’t have time to sightsee anymore. I have to look for something to wear, and maybe eat. Food sounds good right about now.

I just think of something. I know parts of the MLP universe were never explored. I may be in a diamond dog's underground city for all I know. Crap, that just means I need to stay hidden. No telling how those creatures are as a society. But can this place really be a part of that show? It just looks so dark... and hopeless. The cats said this was on the other side of the world of Equestria... what could that mean? I can't think about that right now. I need to get moving. I really hope I don't run into a diamond dog.

I stay to the alleys, not wanting to be seen or to get unwanted attention, as I weave in and out of the passageways. I look out of one of them and I see rats standing by the entrance to it in what looks like a hauberk chainmail of some kind. They’re holding a spear each and have swords on their belts. I can’t help but think that their armor reminds me of something out of lord of the rings, or dragon age. Or... scraps.

I’m not seeing any diamond dogs by the look of it... Okay so I don't have to worry about digging for gems for the rest of my life. But who are these guys? Am I one of them, or something else? Fuck! I just want to know where the flying monkey I am!?

I look out of the alley to see if they’re gone. I need clothes. I look around to see if anyone or anything left clothes out to dry. As much as I didn't like it, I'd have to steal to survive. After seeing nothing I was about to go to my next plan of crossing the street when I hear someone, right behind me, Craaaaap.

"Give me all your gold now!" says a young, male voice as I feel a three fingered hand grab my right shoulder. I don’t think at this point as adrenaline takes over. I turn and throw my arm out, smashing my hand into his face. I don’t stop there as I grab the rat by the collar with one hand and the side of his head with the other. I then start to smash his head into the wall. I stop when I hear something drop to the floor with a metal clang. It’s then that I let go and he drops to the floor like a sack of potatoes.

‘Oh my god. Oh my god did I just kill someone?!’ I think frantically. ‘Wait, calm down and check for a pulse it, He might still be alive. I put my hand to the rat’s neck to search for a pulse. I’m unsure if this would work. I sigh in relief as I feel the steady thumping sensation of his life-giving blood. I didn't kill him, but I stop as I look around to see what the rat had dropped.

What I saw was a dagger... "Son of a biscuit..." This thing was going to kill me!?! The adrenaline slowly leaves my body and my calm demeanor gets replaced by a slow-burning panic. The rat is out cold on the floor and it's at this point that I see what it’s wearing. Those boots do look nice, and an idea works it way into my head.

I left him in his underwear, though calling it that may be a bit generous. I’m now walking down the street as I take in my surroundings. Now that I think about it, that was kind of funny and mean, but hey, you can’t blame me for capitalizing on a bad choice. He should know better than to mug someone with nothing to lose. I'm just lucky there wasn't a group of them. He had some gold on him, though I have no idea if five coins is a lot. I hope it can get me something to eat at least.

I stop and look at myself in what looks like a shop window. My new outfit is kind of run down but I don’t mind. The green and black fabric went well with my fur. And the boots were nice as well. I’m just happy to have something on my feet as well after walking around for who knows how long with nothing on them. My mind drifts back to those cats and what they said.

Okay let’s start over with what I do know. The cats, that I am now partially convinced are aliens, have somehow sent me god knows where and on what planet.

Moving on, they said I was sent across the world from Equestria... meaning I'm somehow in the show of my little pony or at the very least a world like it. I don’t quite know how far Celestia’s reign goes, but this definitely isn’t any place that was covered by the show.

I need a plan. A really good one...

Fuuuuck... I'm bad at planning with no info that can help me. I'm going to wing it and hope for the best...

Meet some ponies and make some friend's! Why the hell not? The more I think about it the more likely I feel this plan is going to fail. This is too much to deal with.

"What do you think you're doing outside my shop!" I turn to the doorway off to the side of the window I’m looking at and see an old rat. He has balding brown fur, which is, to be honest, quite creepy to see on a bipedal rat. Curiously, there’s a full-moon pendant hanging around his neck. Other than that, he’s wearing a deep purple robe that is obscuring most of his body.

Now when I say old, I mean old... It looks like half his fur is falling out, and he looked a bit ill as well. This may be an opportunity. With how old this rat is, he could probably use some help in his shop. I’m still in need of shelter and information. Maybe this can work out?

"I'm looking for work. Do you have any openings?" I put a smile on my face, but as soon as I say work, the old rat gives me a look that just screams 'I don't trust you'. So yeah... this was going to go well.

"And why would a thief want to look for work?" the old rat asks.

"Thief? How am I a thief?" I ask in confusion. The way the old rat is looking at me is giving me the feeling that I’m in trouble, and I don’t know why.

"You don't know?" he asks me imperiously.

I don’t know how to answer that. What is he talking about? Is he asking me about my background?
Well, fat chance of giving him that. Hey, I’m not the creature you see before you, I’m another one called a human stuck in this body because two alien cat gods wants to play a game with me. Sure... let’s tell him that... not!

"All I remember is waking up with nothing on with no idea where I am. Someone tried to mug me, but I knocked him out and took his clothes." The old rat just stares at me for a bit. I get the feeling he's going to call bullshit on my story and I’ll be seeing the inside of this place’s equivalent of the justice system, if they even have one, but then he looks up and down the street before looking back at me. "Get in here," he says quickly.

I'm not sure what’s going on but I follow the old rat inside. A part of me says I shouldn't go inside the creepy looking run down shop with an even shadier looking old rat, but the other part of me says I still need a bed and information. The door slams shut behind me and I see the old rat locking the door with a lot of locks.

"You're an outsider I can tell, but you're lucky the guards didn’t find you," says the rat as he walks to the back of the room. I look around the shop and see that it full of old books, knick-knacks and other curios. The more I look at it the more it looks like a pawn shop. There’s a small fire place to my right, and to my left is a lot of boxes. But I’m drawn back to what the rat said before.

"What do you mean outsider?" I ask as he looks back at me, as if to study me.

"Outsider as in not part of this city, how did you get in anyway? The tunnel's are all closed off," he says as he gazes down in thought, almost as if he’s half asking, and half muttering to himself. After a moment he looks up again, “There are too many questions here for my liking. Knowledge is power, and while what you know may keep you out of harm's way, it also could just as well be the end of me. Especially in these times.”

“Talk, stranger. If you know anything more, now’s the time to tell it.”

So... I’m right about this place being under ground. I try to think of a backstory so this guy don't kick me out... but who the hell am I kidding? I can't lie to save my life. The one I told earlier is bound to fall apart eventually. I have nothing left to lose. So I begin to tell my story.

"To be honest, I have no idea. Last thing I remember is talking to two weird looking cats. Next thing I know I'm a walking talking rat down here with no clothes on. I hate to be rude, but where I’m from, we usually give our names before interrogations.”

The old rat looks as if he is trying to find holes in my story, but at the same time is trying to think of what I’m talking about. After a while, he goes off to look through some of his books.

Damn, I wish I knew who this rat is. Just thinking of him as ‘old rat’ is starting to be a pain in the ass, Or should I say tail from now on?

"Give me your name and I'll tell you mine." I can tell by the look in the old git’s eye that he wants my name. There is both power and weight to his words. So yeah, I am scared shitless of him. But what am I to do? I couldn’t give him my real name, could I?

No, this is a new life, a new start, and something tells me that I'm in for a long ride. But what to be called?
There was one name in particular that was repeated to me while I was in the void. I didn't know what it was, or what it meant, but I knew it with a passion stronger than a lot of things that I’ve encountered in my life. I didn’t know if this was a sign, or if this was fate, destiny, or whatever machinations the forces around me wanted it to be, but for the moment it felt right.

"My name... is Ragnarok."

I'll add these in just to be on the safe side. Hmm should I add a crossover tag to this as well?

And mlp to Hasbro.
Skaven belong to Warhammer game workshop.
Nightwalkers inspired by Skaven and other things.