The Wolf and the Unicorn

"Courage, love, friendship,

compassion, and empathy

lift us above the simple beasts

and define humanity."

-The Book of Counted Sorrows

After a few minutes of listening to the hyper pony talk, Twilight finally got a word in edgewise, and pointed out that she really needed to show me the town and introduce me today.  No point in freaking out everypony by having a giant wolf walking around town.  And that gave me an idea.

"Hey Twilight, do you have any of my clothes here?  There should have been an extra change of everything in my pack when it came with me."

She looked at me for a moment while deep in thought, and gave the answer I expected.

"The Princess said everything you arrived with was returned to you, so if it was in your pack, it should be there," as she gestured toward a slightly brown stained pack in the corner, "we did what we could to get the blood out, but that's pretty hard after a few days."

I slowly walked over to the pack, not wanting to look anxious to the curious pony, but relished the familiar weight and texture of the pack as I pulled it upright.  The soft sound of waterproof zippers opening and contents rustling as I started digging.

"If you were curious about your, what did you call them, firearms? They are locked up until we get you to your house tonight.  It could be dangerous to leave them out, as a certain group of fillies might want to see what they do."

That, was an answer I did not expect.  I had explained what guns were, but I didn't think the ponies would have put that much forethought into their storage.  Fine by me, as I wasn't looking for those, yet.  Finding what I really wanted, I wadded up a loose collection of camouflage hunting clothes and a pair of matching boots.  If anyone from home saw these, they would have immediately assumed I was military, especially with the firearms I carried, but I just took my hunting seriously. (*AN* at the end of the chapter, I'll to try to link photos of the gear I'm talking about)

"I'll be right back Twilight.  I'm going to go get changed."

Thankfully I had gotten down into the basement before what I said clicked, and a loud yell came from upstairs.

"Hex!  You are going to do what?!"

The pounding of hurried hoofsteps came down the steps, and I knew there was some kind of lecture coming.

"Hex, what exactly are you going to do now?  Your clothes won't fit you as you are, and I hope you aren't going to try what I think you are."

I looked up at her while I laid my clothes across a nearby table.

"I think I figured out what went wrong last time and I know how to fix it.  If you want to watch, you are welcome to, and if you think this is a danger, let me know and I'll stop.  BUT, I think it would freak the ponies in this town out less if they saw a human, not a giant predator that they are all scared of."

"Well, you have a point.  If I tell you to stop you do need to stop though.  I think the spell the Princess put on you will keep you from hurting anypony, but collapsing the library on us would be bad too.  I didn't even think about the wolf bit though, as I'm used to seeing you so often.  Applejack would probably try to buck you thinking you were a timberwolf."

I would have sworn she chuckled a little bit at the thought of another pony kicking the crap out of me.  Then again, I'm fairly certain that Twilight is a closet sadist.

"Time to get this party started," I whispered to myself as I walked into the middle of the room and exhaled softly.

I could feel the magic pulsing in the gems imbedded in my palms, all it needed was a little push.  As the breath slowly left me, I mentally tugged at the edges of the power, slipping it out toward the rest of my hands, hands that were softly starting to glow green and gold.  The moment the embers touched the tattoos hidden under my fur, flames burst into being, a deep forest green that tapered to emerald near the tips, and capped with reflections of the purest gold.

The power roared up the lines imbedded in my skin up to my shoulders and spreading to my chest.  Pouring over me as if I took a bath in gasoline, the flames roared with me reveling in the pleasure and agony.  The moment they touched the floor, the hellfire dripped down my body to form a ring, slowly etching it into the floor as they faded, revealing bare skin.  That's when I realized I was naked.  Completely bareass naked in front of a small horse.  A small horse who was right about crotch height.

Awkward.