Chapters The dimensional vortex.
A space of swirling green-blue energy that connects every world in reality, and a few outside reality as well. This was a space that only a few could travel, and fewer still could reach beyond the parallels of their own world. It was an infinite space of endless possibilities.
And he knew it well.
While traveling inside the vortex he has no name. There is no need for one as here in the vortex there was only him, and his two companions. He sat comfortably inside his large, three chambered ship that hurdled through the vortex seemingly on its own power. He watched the vortex within the center chamber with indifference.Every now and then he would see his reflection in the large window of his chamber. The traveler kept his black hair short, and his dark brown eyes stared coolly back at him and whenever the man shifted his weight, the metal cuffs around his wrist clinked loudly in the silence of the ship.
A slightly raspy male voice rang inside his chamber, " That was fun!" it said before laughing. "I love being underestimated!"
"You would think you'd be used to it by now," a different voice, this time a young female, teased. "It's easy to underestimate you, Sid."
Sid scoffed, "No need to be jealous, Essi. Next time I'll save you a few."
Essi gagged. "I've seen enough blood to last twenty lifetimes, thank you."
"Could've fooled me with how you acted in the last world." The man in the center chamber couldn't see the two speaking, but he has been traveling with them long enough to know their features by heart. Sid, who sat within the chamber to the man's right wore dark clothes that made his pale skin seem even paler. His dark hair was long enough to be tied back,revealing a pair of red, mischievous eyes.
In the chamber to the man's left, Essi sat in a white shirt black shorts and a blue short skirt. Her pinkish blonde hair flowed down her back, and a small fang-like tooth could be seen anytime she would talk.
At the mention of the last world, the man looked into his right, dark skinned hand.
The man's right hand was covered in blood. He looked up into the pained face of the woman who the traveler had in his grasp. He smiled as he tightened his grip around her neck, and with a quick twist of his wrist, her neck snapped and she went limp.
"NOOO!" a voice cried. Moving the now quite dead woman slightly to the side, the man smirked at a group of three men dressed similarly in dark clothing with neon blue highlights. Each were carrying spears made of hard light. The spear man in the center glared at the traveler with tears in his eyes.
"I'm sorry. Did this," the traveler gestured with his head to the woman, "belong to you? Totally my fault. Here, you can have it back," the traveler tossed the body unceremoniously to the ground. Clearly only whatever training the spear man went through kept him on his feet at the sight of his lover-or his sister?-who now lied at his feet. The spear man's grip tightened around his weapon, and, at a gesture, the other two spear men rushed behind the traveler to flank him.
The lead spear man leveled his spear at the traveler, "You will pay for what you have done here!" The traveler's grin widened. Without any noticeable command, the three spear men charged silently, which the traveler thought was interesting. In any other world, in the same situation, these men would be yelling like animals. The traveler found time to admire the training it took to keep a basic instinct like screaming while charging an enemy down, until he felt his body being pierced by three hard light spears. The traveler's grin never left his face, until his eyes glazed over and he went limp.
The lead spear man smiled, "I hope Ardat rapes you well in hell, you son of a bitch!" The lead spear man began to pull his spear from the traveler's body, but froze when the traveler gripped the spear at the point where it entered his body. The other two spear men backed away quickly, their fear overcoming their training. The lead spear man stared up in terror as the traveler's smile returned.
"So," he said, "who's Ardat?" the traveler's eyes regained their luster, and they stared directly into the spear man's own. "She sounds hot."
The lead spear man succumbed to his fear and quickly backed away from the traveler, "W-what are you?"
The traveler merely lifted his right arm, and snapped his fingers. A shadow descended on the spear man to the traveler's right. With a scream, the spear man's arm was severed by a man in dark clothes, and red eyes wielding a curved hard light sword. With a shift in stance, and another swing of his sword, the red-eyed man decapitated the spear man.
"NARU!" cried the spear man on the traveler's right. Before he could rush to his friend,he was spun around by a girl with pinkish blond hair.
The girl smiled sweetly at him, "Hello!" she then quickly thrust her arm forward and pierced the spear man's chest. "Ooooh," the girl pulled her arm back, and pulled the spear man's heart out of his chest. She stared at the heart in her palm like it was a treasure, and didn't give the now dead spear man at her feet a second thought. "The humans of this world have such pretty hearts. Like snowflakes, each one is so unique. Master, can I take all of their hearts?"
The red-eyed man shouldered his sword, "Our ship doesn't have enough room for that many. Just pick out one or two and be done with it."
The girl's face fell, but quickly perked up when she eyed the remaining spear man. Tossing the heart over her shoulder, she approached the spear man with hunger in her eyes. "A heart filled with loss. A heart filled with despair. Pain, sorrow, anger, hate. His heart must be beautiful!"
The traveler pulled a spear from his body, and stopped the girls advance, "No," the girl was about to protest until the traveler continued, "This world has an afterlife, yes?"
The red eyed man scoffed, "Yeah, but it's...boring."
The traveler pointed the spear at the red eyed man, "Not the point," he moved the spear to the spear man, who at this point had backed himself into a wall, "You see, I've been watching this one for a while. He's the 'noble' type. Always rushing to help someone with little thought of himself, or reward. If he dies, he goes to the good place. Now I ask you both, why should he be rewarded after what he has done to us?" The girl's face scrunched up in deep thought, while the red eyed man grew a knowing smile. "Sid. Essi. Injection."
"Oh, that's what you meant!" cried the girl. The traveler sighed, and made a "get on with it" gesture with his free hand. The girl grinned sheepishly before pointing to the spear man with her left index finger, while the red eyed man did the same, but with his right. A second later both their fingers extended quickly, and pierced either side of the spear man's neck. Just as quickly, their fingers returned to their normal size.
The spear man rubbed his neck while staring at the three in confusion, "What...what did you do?"
"Well,we gave you a little gift. Now before you assume, no. It's not really a gift. I know how you people are with not understanding sarcasm. Do you know how difficult it is to build a reputation as a funny man, when more than half of your jokes go over everyone's heads? So annoying! And another thing...!"
"Master, you're ranting again," the red eyed man said.
"Right, right. Anywho, there are some things you need to know now." The traveler pulled another spear from his body, "First," before the spear man could react, the traveler rushed forward and pierced his shoulder.
The spear man cried out in pain, but soon after the traveler pulled back, he stopped and his eyes widened in surprise. "There's no more pain..." the spear man wiped away the blood on his shoulder, only to reveal that the stab wound had healed itself without a scar.
"First, you can no longer be killed by any weapon," the traveler dropped the spear, and nonchalantly pulled the last from his body, "Secondly, you will not die from any poison. Third,you will not...okay let's just say that you are not going to die. Ever."
"W-what?"
The traveler smiled, "Yep. Everyone around you will age and die, while you will stay the same. You will outlive your friends, your family," with each sentence, the look on the spear man's face grew more horrified. "Any children you may have, their children, so on and so forth will all die before you. You will even outlive this planet." the traveler shuddered, "Exciting, isn't it? Maybe next time you'll think before you get my food order wrong." he spread his arms wide, "Welcome to immortality, brother!"
"Um..Master?" Essi's faux sweet voice snapped the traveler back to the present. Even though he couldn't see her, the traveler glanced in her direction. "Do you think that maybe we could...um visit a world with...um...unicorns?"
Sid laughed harder than was necessary, "Are you kidding?" he asked between chuckles.
"What?" Essi asked indignantly, dropping her cute facade. "It's been so long since we've been to a world with one."
"What are you talking about? We saw one four worlds ago."
"Yeah, but that one was..." The traveler could hear Essi shiver.
"The coolest unicorn ever?" Sid offered. "The way that thing loved to impale people with its horn? Awesome!"
Essi gave a disgruntled sigh, "Anyway Master, what do you say?"
Before the traveler could answer, Sid said, "Screw that! Master, we need to head to an H-world. You and I both know how long it's been since you've..."
"LALALALALALA not hearing this!"
"Baby."
"Pervert!"
"Agreed, but honestly any world would be better than one with sissy, no-impaling unicorns."
"Master agrees that we should go somewhere nice this time. Right, Master?"
"To use a stupid phrase to counter your stupid argument, 'When pigs fly.'"
Essi's voice turned triumphant, "There was a flying pig twenty worlds ago, remember?"
"That pig was only in the air because of the power of the rooster on its back, and you know it."
The traveler responded in a monotonous voice, "To be fair, said pig was shooting lasers from its eyes."
"You're not helping, Master."
"Wasn't trying to."
After a few moments of silence Essi said, "So Master, about that world..."
"I'm curious, Essi," he wasn't really, but he knew what to say that would give him a few minutes of silence. "Why are you so adamant about visiting a world of unicorns?"
"Because where there are unicorns, there are usually princesses!" Essi exclaimed, suddenly becoming wistful. "And when Master and the princess meet they'll fall in love, and get married! Then she'll treat me like her daughter, and let me ride her pegasus, one that she's had since it was a foal..." Essi trailed off into silence, but the traveler knew she was still fantasizing.
"And she's gone," said Sid. "So now that that is over with..."
"I haven't decided what kind of world to land in," the traveler said, cutting Sid off.
Sid let out an exasperated sigh, "Master, you are sooo boring when you're blank."
Blank. That was the best way to describe the traveler's state of mind while traveling the vortex. Not only did he lack a name, he lacked any emotion. He only felt a slight attachment to his two companions. Other than that, nothing. He chose to be this way, though. Whenever he would land in a world, his ship would implant a personality onto him, and he would use that personality for the duration of his stay in the world. When he would return to the vortex, his personality "dies" and left blank once again with all the memories and experience the personality had while in the world. He called this state, the tabula rasa. Sid and Essi also changed, but subtly. Their personalities largely remained the same, but a few traits would change to match the traveler's, keeping them close no matter what kind of man the traveler turned out to be.
This was the life of the three. They roam all of reality, jumping from world to world. All in the name of staving off boredom.
Meanwhile outside of the vortex, in a world close to the three travelers. A purple unicorn, her rainbow maned pegasus friend, and a small dragon trotted up to a set of large gates separating the city of Canterlot from the large castle. The two identical pegasi standing guard on either side of the gate smiled at the young unicorn, and let her and her friends pass unhindered. Once the three were out of sight of the main gates, and with no other ponies around, the unicorn's mane became disheveled and her eyes shrank. She began to babble on about the princess and how disappointed and angry she must have been with the unicorn to summon her to Canterlot.
The rainbow maned pegasus rolled her eyes while the dragon gestured to the unicorn and gave the pegasus a look that said, "I had to deal with this all morning. Your turn."
The pegasus sighed and flew down to the unicorn and grabbed her face with both hooves, "You need to calm down, Twilight."
Twilight's eye began to twitch, "Calm down? CALM DOWN? Rainbow, I almost destroyed Ponyville, AGAIN! And now the Princess called me here, probably to punish me for what I did. So what exactly should I be calm about?"
Spike mumbled, "The why is Rainbow here?" Twilight glared at him, causing Spike to hide behind Rainbow Dash.
Last night in Ponyville.
The streets of Ponyville were a bustle of activity. The sun was just beginning to make its descent over the horizon, and the shop vendors were packing away their wares. Parents were collecting their children from their day of play, and most ponies began their trips home for dinner and to rest in preparation for the next day. It was once again the beginning of a beautiful evening for the denizens of the small town.
So it was only a matter of time before it all went to Tartarus.
An explosion and a demonic shrill shattered the tranquility of the early night. Ponies froze in the the streets and all turned to the source of the disturbance. The Ponyville library, a hollowed tree and home of Twilight Sparkle, personal student of Princess Celestia and the most likely cause of the current situation. Another screech echoed through the night, and a figure shot from the library, and spread it's leathery wings. Another cry from the creature snapped the ponies below from their curious stares, and sent them scattering in a panic.
The purple unicorn burst from her home in a panic, a thick tome floating next to her wrapped in a purple aura. She followed the creature's path towards the town's center, while simultaneously flipping through the tome. An orange mare in a stetson hat joined Twilight's side,"Twilight, what in tarnation is goin' on? What is that thing?"
The two ponies stopped in front of town hall where the creature roosted on one of the beams. It resembled a withering bald monkey, but its head was akin to a dog. Snakes writhed on it's head like hair, and it's exposed skin was black as coal. The creature stared at the two mares with bloodshot eyes filled with rage. A white coated unicorn joined Twilight and the other. The newcomer took one look at the creature, and balked at the site, "Dear Celestia, what is that thing?"
Twilight stepped forward without taking her eyes off the creature, "It's called a Fury. It's a creature that existed in ancient Equestria, long before even the princesses born. Its purpose was to seek out and punish wrongdoers."
The orange mare glanced at Twilight, "Wait, are ya sayin' that this critter's good?"
Twilight shook her head, "No, Applejack. For a fury something like stealing a piece of candy is the same as murdering somepony."
The fury hissed, "A wrong is a wrong, there is no big or small," it pointed a gnarled claw at the mares, "Applejack, you're stubbornness has caused so much trouble for so many ponies, and lying to young Applebloom when she asked about your parents."
Applejack took a step back, "No...th-that's not...," her voice cracked a little.
The fury turned its claw to the white unicorn, "Rarity, your single minded determination is admirable to be sure, but it often goes too far. Putting your social standing in front of your friends, ostracizing your younger sister from your life and driving her away with your selfishness."
Rarity's eyes widened, "I-I..."
"Girls, don't listen to it!" cried Twilight, "Everypony makes mistakes, and we've all made amends. This creature preys on any lingering guilt from our past mistakes, but as long as we can remember the lessons those mistakes have taught us, then we can send this monster back to where it belongs!"
Rarity and Applejack both smiled, as did the fury, "And Twilight Sparkle, the eager student. At the mere mention of anything undiscovered you forget yourself and dive headfirst into any book. Celestia sent you that tome along with explicit instructions to not cast a single spell found within, but you couldn't help but take a peek," Twilight's ears folded against her head, the guilt plainly written on her face. "Your insatiable thirst for knowledge has cased more trouble for this town than anything." A whip made of fire appeared in the monster's claws. "You all must be punished " The fury spread its wings and launched itself from its perch.
Back in Canterlot
The three friends found themselves waiting at the entrance to the audience hall. Rainbow Dash shrugged, "I don't see what the big deal is. We took care of that monster in no time."
Spike nodded, "Yeah, the thing only destroyed Carousel Boutique, a few dozen trees at Sweet Apple Acres, part of Sugarcube corner, the spa, part of the library, and Town Hall."
Twilight groaned , "The princess is going to banish me for sure this time."
The traveler's ship still hurdled through the vortex. With Essi still in "fantasy mode" as Sid called it, the ship was quiet. The traveler was as content as an emotionless being could be with sitting in silence, but Sid was bored out of his mind. So when a red light began blinking in his pod, he grinned like a madman, "Master!" he called out a bit more enthusiastically than he intended. After clearing his throat, Sid continued in a more subdued tone, "We are approaching a world heavily concentrated in magic."
"WHAT?" Essi screamed, snapping out of her daydream. She then began typing furiously at the console that appeared in front of her. After a few minutes she shook her head, "It's not just one," she said, sounding worried, "but all of them. Every alternate, every parallel of the world is so steeped in magic that just one of them could rival..." she trailed off.
"The god-child," Sid finished, unable to hide the smile in his voice.
The traveler's eye twitched slightly at the mention of the god-child. Despite his "blank" state, the traveler still felt a lingering trace of resentment for her. Every version, every alternate, every parallel of that world were subject to the whims of a high school girl, oblivious to her own powers. The traveler drifted to close to her world and was pulled, ship and all, into it against the traveler's will. However, that was now all irrelevant.
"Calm yourselves," the traveler said, "I have taken the necessary steps to prevent a repeat of what happened with the god-child. The ship is shielded against all magic. Arcane, spiritual, divine, infernal, and many other types of magic that can reach the vortex will not be able to touch the ship, and by extension us."
"What if the magic bypasses the shields instead of breaking them, and just affects the interior?" Sid asks.
"To do that would require the powers of a god and more. It is improbable that the world we're approaching has a being like that, or one who cares enough to try."
"But not impossible,Master," Essi said, "I recommend we avoid this world."
The traveler glanced her way, before turning towards Sid's pod, "Sid, your thoughts?"
Sid shrugged even though the traveler couldn't see him, "I couldn't care less either way. On one hand it would be nice to stretch my legs. On the other, a world with that much magic has even chances of being incredibly cool, or incredibly girly. Mmmm, I'm gonna vote that we pass."
"It's rare to hear you two agree," the traveler mused while placing a finger on the near transparent screen to his left. "Very well, we shall avoid this world." He moved his finger across the screen. The ship jerked, and began moving in the same direction.
The giant doors leading to the audience chamber opened seemingly on their own. With a nod from the guard, the three friends made their way into the chamber with only a few minutes hesitation on Twilight's part. The long walk to the throne did nothing to alleviate Twilight's mood. Even looking into the princess's ever present smiling face made her imagine all the different ways that Twilight would be punished.
After nodding respectfully at kneeling subjects, the princess's serene voice echoed in the hall, "Twilight, my faithful student, it's good to see you again."
Twilight hesitantly met he teacher's eyes, "It's good to see you, too, Princess Celestia."
After greeting the others, Celestia's eyebrow raised slightly, "I had thought that your other friends would accompany you, but.." she trailed off, giving Twilight a chance to respond.
Spike spoke up, "Well they wanted to come with us, but..."
Rainbow interrupted, "But they decided to stay behind to help with the clean-up."
At the mention of Ponyville, Twilight's face fell. Celestia nodded in understanding, "I see. Now, Twilight, as you may have already guessed I summoned you here for an important reason."
Twilight gulped audibly, "Y-yes, Princess?"
"First, I must apologize for the trouble I have caused you."
The three stared dumbstruck at the princess, before Twilight found her voice, "Apologize? To me?"
"Yes, in my haste I had forgotten how...enthusiastic you can be." Twilight giggled shyly, "I had originally planned to visit Ponyville, so I could guide you slowly through the spells held within this tome," Celestia's horn glowed in a golden light, and the ancient text appeared floating next to her wrapped in the same light. "However, before I could esca...uh, finish my duties, a small crisis delayed me for a day. Since then I've been unable to get away, so instead I called you here."
"So..you didn't call me here to punish me?"
Celestia giggled, "Of course not. Although I must say that the spell you chose to cast in Ponyville, was the very spell I had intended to teach you, but it seems you managed to figure it out on your own. You never cease to amaze me with your progress."
Twilight's cheeks flushed at the praise, but she raised an eyebrow at what her teacher said, "Why would you need to come all the way to Ponyvile to teach me a simple summoning spell?"
Celestia shook her head, "This is no simple spell, my dear student, Normally summoning spells are used to transport inanimate objects a short distance to the caster," the glow around Celestia's horn brightened slightly, and One of the many vases bordering the hall appeared at her side, before flashing back to its pedestal. "Now this spell can be used to summon live creatures, like so." With an impish grin, Celestia's horn lit up like a flare, and in the air before her, her sister, Princess Luna appeared. Asleep, and dressed in moon print pajamas, complete with a nightcap.
After the initial shock of seeing the princess of the night in her sleep wear wore off, Rainbow Dash and Spike tried to hold in their laughter. Luna rolled over and mumbled in her sleep, "No sis...that's my cake..." Rainbow and Spike burst out laughing. When Luna began to stir, Celestia returned her to her room.
After allowing herself a few laughs, Celestia returned her attention to her student, "This can be an incredibly difficult spell, especially if you don't have a specific target in mind. Even though you were able to reach all the way to Tartarus,let's begin with something a little closer to home shall we?"
Twilight's ears perked up, "Right now?"
"Yes as this hour is all I was able to keep free for you."
Twilight nodded, "I understand, Princess. How should we begin?"
Celestia turned her attention to Rainbow, "Rainbow Dash, would you mind being Twilight's subject?"
Rainbow saluted, "I'd love to, Princess. I'm always willing to help a friend."
Celestia smiled, "Then wait at the end of the hall, if you will." Without another word, Rainbow sped off to the entrance of the hall. When Rainbow indicated that she was in position, Celestia said, "Whenever your ready, Twilight." After a few moments hesitation, and after an encouraging smile from her mentor, Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated on her spell.
The traveler's ship suddenly stopped. Odd, he thought to himself. Screens appeared in front of him. He turned to a screen that showed him a readout of the ship's status. They have indeed stopped, which should have been impossible.
"Master?" Essi called, fiddling with the screens in her own pod, "It seems that we've stopped."
"Really?" Sid said, his pod overflowing with sarcasm.
Essi didn't retort, an act the traveler found more odd. "Take a look," she said instead, sending the results of what she found to Sid's and the traveler's pods. A new screen appeared in each, allowing them to read the results for themselves.
"Well that's unsettling," Sid said. "That world seems to be pulling us back."
"Maybe the world itself is alive, and took an interest in us?" Essi offered.
The traveler folded his arms, "It's possible, but unlikely. This is a problem."
"Master," Sid deadpanned, "You could at least act worried at the fact that we're being abducted...again. You know, for Essi's sake."
Essi scoffed and the traveler said, "We'll be fine," he forced a grin to make his tone sound more upbeat, "What are the odds that world has a being powerful enough to penetrate our shields.
Silence fell on the ship.
"Sid...!" Essi began.
"Way ahead of you!" Sid interrupted.
The traveler listened on in silence while his two companions bickered over the best way to escape the current situation. He knew they should be able to measure the power holding their ship as he had, but he learned long ago that nothing short of an exploding planet would stop their arguing. The power holding the ship was strong indeed, , but it would take a lot more to bypass every safeguard the traveler had set up. He leaned back in his pod,completely content to let them figure that out on their own.
Something was clearly wrong. Celestia had taught this spell to many unicorns in the past, but Twilight's face was beginning to scrunch up in concentration, or pain, "Twilight, you may stop now," Celestia said with concern evident in her voice, "We can try again at a later date."
Twilight's face began dripping with sweat, her teethe were bared and the light of her horn flickered unstably. She made no sign that she had heard her teacher.
"Twilight, did you not hear me? I said you could stop now."
She didn't move. Spike walked up to her side, "Twilight?" he placed a claw on her shoulder, and was immediately blasted back by a shock wave of power.
Composing herself after the wave had passed, Celestia called out, "Twilight that is enough! Stop the spell immediately!"
Twilight managed to croak out, "I...can't...!" before her horn lit up like a beacon.
Celestia rushed to her student's side. Lighting her own horn, she scanned Twilight's form. This is bad, she thought, Something is interfering with her spell, some sort of outside influence, but how? If this continues, Twilight will be completely drained, "Twilight, you are dangerously close to being drained. I'm going to add my own power to your spell to prevent that from happening."
The traveler doubled over in pain. His body felt as if it was being torn in two, rejoined, then torn again. This pain was familiar. Whatever was in the world the three had tried to avoid, was trying to bring the traveler to it. Whether accidentally, or by design remained to be seen, but the traveler knew that he had to resist. No matter how painful it became.
The traveler tried to suppress a grunt, but Sid had heard, "Master, what's wrong?"
He tried to speak in order to reassure his companions, but all that escaped him was a small scream.
Essi gasped, "No, nononononono! No! Master, hold on!" Essi typed frantically at her screens. She re-routed as much as the ship's power as she could into moving the ship, while Sid threw up all the shields the ship had. It wasn't enough. The traveler's vision began to split between his ship inside the vortex, and a white space within a large hall.
Sid punched the side of his pod, "Nothing! Essi?"
She remained silent.
The traveler knew it was inevitable. Obviously there was a form of magic that he hadn't accounted for, and this oversight would cost him. The traveler struggled to lift his arm, most of his energy being spent resisting the pull of the world for as long as possible. He managed to touch two icons on his center screen. The first caused the screens in Essi's and Sid's pods to disappear.
As soon as her screens vanished, Essi cried out, "Master no, there's still time! Please...!" she continued pleading with the traveler while banging on the side of her pod.
The second icon set the traveler's ship into autopilot. He couldn't have it land in a world without him, after all. "S-Sid...Essi..." he managed to say, his resistance beginning to weaken. "Until I...can bring you in..."
Sid growled, "Master no! Don't do it!
"Please!" the traveler could hear the tears in Essi's eyes, "We can make it! Don't...!"
Their pleas fell on deaf ears, "Until I can bring you into the world. ...Standby." Immediately the screams and banging stopped. The traveler could imagine the two of them slumped over in their pods, almost like they were sleeping. The traveler forced a small smile at the image, before allowing the magic to take him fully.
He was floating inside that white space within the large hall. The pain didn't lessen as the traveler had expected, so he did the only thing he knew that would.
"Shift,"
The traveler felt his body begin to change.
The commotion of Twilight's spell had drawn the guards into the hall, and the half dozen of them formed a semi-circle around the princess and Twilight. Unable to do anything, the guards watched the white sphere that had appeared above Twilight, awaiting whatever might appear from it.
Soon a silhouette came into view from inside the sphere. It's form flickered in and out of existence, and seemed to be struggling as if it were in pain. It's body shape brought images of the apes of old to Celestia's mind, but she couldn't make out anymore details than that.
Twilight's magic aura pulsed and shone brighter. As a result the creature's form solidified, and no longer winked back to wherever it came from. Only a few moments later did the creature's body begin to change. It grew in size by a few inches, its body widened, while what Celestia assumed to be its face elongated into what appeared to be a muzzle, but one unlike a ponies. The appendages at the end of its arms appeared to grow into claws, and its backside sprouted a bushy tail. It was a truly monstrous form.
Another pulse of magic emanated from Twilight. All unicorns, even Celestia herself felt a sudden drain in their energy, and the creature's form began to change again. Its claws shrank down into paws, its tail grew in length, and its body hunched as if it wasn't meant to stand on its hind legs like its previous forms.
With one final shock wave that knocked everypony, save for Celestia, off their hooves, Twilight's spell finally ended. Celestia helped a drained Twilight back onto her hooves before turning her attention to the other ponies in the hall, "Is everypony alright?" The guardsponies were already back on their hooves, and had surrounded something. Celestia assumed that it was the creature. Rainbow Dash and Spike also seemed unharmed.
"Wh-what happened?" Twilight asked.
Rainbow answered, "That spell of yours just went crazy!" She began to go into more detail, but a hoof on Twilight's shoulder caused her to look up into the eyes of her mentor.
"Princess, I'm so sorry I..."
Celestia interrupted, "It's alright, Twilight."
"But.."
"Something interfered with your spell, and as a result you nearly died. You are not to blame for this."
Twilight felt as if an enormous weight had been lifted off her back, but then her curiosity took over, "So what came through?"
Celestia turned her head and Twilight followed her gaze. She noticed the guards, and letting her curiosity get the better of her once again, made her way to them.
"Be careful, Twi," she heard Rainbow say. Twilight acknowledged Rainbow's warning, but she had to know what she almost died for. At a word from Celestia, the guards parted to make way for Twilight, who froze at the sight of the creature at their hooves.
"It kinda looks like a timberwolf," Spike said, startling Twilight as he appeared next to her.
Rainbow, who was hovering overhead, said, "Except it has fur instead of bark. And look at the size of it," Twilight had to agree, even lying down, she could tell that it was about the same size as Princess Celestia. The wolf's fur was black, and on its foerlegs were metal cuffs. Its breathing was slow and steady, and Twilight was sure it was asleep.
"Did I accidentally summon somepony's pet?" she asked herself. She walked closer, her inquisitive nature outweighing her fear. Its face wasn't near;y as ferocious as what Twilight would expect a wolf's to look like. In fact, despite the longer muzzle and smaller eyes, Twilight thought the wolf looked almost gentle in its sleep. She reached out with a hoof, overcome with a need to pet this creature, but froze when she noticed its brown eye looking directly into hers.
"I-it's awake," was all she could say.
Author's Note
Jeeze this took forever. Ah well, that's what happens when you have a full time job, on top of being a full time student. Yay mini vacations! Anyway, if you spot any errors please let me know, and critiques are welcome.
Pain.
He was used to pain. With everything he has been through, everything he has experienced, he understood pain well. However he still wondered, why did it have to hurt so much? The traveler's body ached all over. With every breath he took, with every beat of his heart a new wave of pain shot through him. He could hear voices through t he pain, but he remained still as it faded.
The traveler heard a soft click-clacking approaching him, so he slowly began to open his eyes. The world before him was blurry, with large splotches of color here and there, mostly white but with one purple splotch that grew as it neared him.. As his vision began to clear, the splotch came into focus, and he found himself staring right into a set of large purple eyes.
Said eyes belonged to a lavender coated equine with a purple mane with what appeared to be highlights. His eye also caught a horn jutting from the equine's head.The first thought that entered the traveler's mind was, A unicorn, Essi will be thrilled.
Then the unicorn spoke, "I-it's awake,"
Ecstatic even, The traveler closed his eyes and, with a groan, attempted to stand. The sudden movements caused the unicorn to back away quickly behind two more equines with white coats and clad in golden armor. These equines however had wings folded against their backs. A quick glance around himself showed the traveler that he was surrounded by the small white equines, all wearing the same armor and the same glare in their eyes. He noted two unicorns, two pegasi, and two equines without either horns nor wings. He also noted the half dozen spears leveled at his head.
Dismissing the sharp pieces of metal, the traveler stood fully upright on shaky legs. With another glace around, he found himself towering over the equines, save for one. The one equine, in the rather spacious room the traveler found himself in, that could look him in the eye did so with a neutral expression on her face. Her (at least the traveler assumed she was female) pristine white coat seemed to glow in the well lit room, and her light three colored mane flowed in a non-existent wind. But it was her eyes that caught his attention, for in those magenta eyes the traveler recognized a well hidden tiredness. One that he was all too familiar with.
With some difficulty the traveler's eyes wondered over the large equine's body. The large golden tiara that rested behind her long horn, a golden chest plate that hung around her slender neck, and the golden slippers over her long legs together led the traveler to believe that this equine led the others. Perhaps a queen, maybe a princess, or this world's equivalent. The traveler took in all this detail in the time it took for one of the soldier equines to let out a nervous breath.
Moving on from the equines, the traveler began to examine his new body. He lifted a forepaw...
A forepaw.
The traveler was a quadruped. That's...different, he thought to himself. Never before in all the worlds where his body changed had he ever been a quadruped. His next thought was how inconvenient it was going to be to handle anything with any sort of finesse. Without hands, or even the clawed digits that he was used to, the traveler supposed he'd have to use his mouth to grip anything. Bringing his forepaw closer, he examined the metal cuff that had shifted to fit his new form. Good.
Lowering his paw he examined his body proper. His body was more lithe and toned than what he was used to, but what was really interesting was his tail. It was much longer than necessary to be used simply for balance. Wrapping it around himself showed that it almost encircled him completely. A few experimental flicks and curls revealed that it was incredibly dexterous for a tail. It might make a good substitute for his hands, at least until he is able to shift back into his human form.
Speaking of which, while the traveler was inspecting his new body the equines have been speaking with one another. Mostly the rainbow maned pegasus, and a small purple bipedal lizard. He found it really interesting that they used the same spoken language as himself, though to be honest one would be surprised how many worlds speak the same language. The unicorn seemed frustrated at an argument that the lizard and pegasus were having, and opened her mouth to speak, but she noticed the traveler looking their way. Her mouth snapped shut. The armored equines around him seemed to be waiting for what the traveler assumed was orders from the royal. How kind of them, the traveler thought. As long as I am in this form, I will be unable to speak with them effectively. Inhaling deeply, and closing his eyes he said in his mind, Shift.
Twilight's quick retreat had earned her a stifled giggle from Rainbow Dash. Spike hopped up onto Twilight's back to get a better look at the wolf, who had just stood to its full height, "So what is it? Did you find anything out?"
Twilight watched the wolf examine its surroundings before shaking her head, "Nothing from my initial observations."
Rainbow smirked, "Probably because you ran away as soon as the thing woke up."
Twilight glared at Rainbow and Spike said, "Of course she did, I mean look at that thing! It's almost as big as the princess, and it probably woulda gobbled her up in a single bite!"
Twilight was about to respond but Rainbow interrupted, "Pfft, It doesn't look that tough. I could easily take it on!"
Twilight turned back to Rainbow to explain that that wouldn't be a good idea, but was once again interrupted by Spike, "There's no way. It looks like it could just sit on you, and you'd be done!"
Twilight opened her mouth to tell her two arguing friends off, but promptly snapped it shut when she noticed the wolf looking straight at them. Rainbow and Spike noticed as well, and also fell silent.
"W-why's it looking at us like that?" Spike asked nervously.
Instead of answering, Twilight turned to her mentor, "Princess, what should we do?"
Before the princess could answer, a low grunting brought their attention back to the wolf.
Nothing had happened. The traveler raised a brow in confusion.
Shift.
Still nothing. He grunted his frustration, but then remembered Sid and Essi's analysis of the planet. With the amount of magic on this world, his own magic was being blocked. Until his body assimilated to the flow of magic on the world, he was stuck in this form. The traveler let out a sigh. Though rare, this wasn't the first time he has experienced being stuck in an undesirable form, and, unfortunately, it wouldn't be the last.
So, what to do? The traveler looked to the equine that he assumed to be the leader. Despite her knights clear fear of him, she has yet to order them to attack the unknown creature before them. It will be difficult to communicate with the way he was, but he was confident that they would be able to find a way to discuss the situation calmly.
So of course his hunger decided that this was the perfect time to make itself known. A low grumble echoed through the chamber. Well that was ill timed.
The purple lizard decided to break the silence that followed, "I think it's hungry."
The traveler's ears folded back as he predicted what would happen next. He didn't have to wait long for one of the knights to finally lose its nerve and lunge at him with a spear. Moving on instinct, the traveler dodged the clumsy thrust and snapped the haft of the spear between his jaws.
The travelers eyes widened, That was a mistake, Instincts kicking in, the traveler leapt back just as the other knights pierced the air where he used to be. Alright, so much for diplomacy. However, The traveler folded his ears back, lowered himself closer to the ground, This is a perfect opportunity to see what this body can do. The knights wasted no time, and with a heroic cry, charged the traveler.
"What are they doing?!" Twilight exclaimed.
Rainbow answered as she flew higher to get a better look, "They're gonna kick this wolf thing's flank is what!"
The wolf, despite its size, danced between the guards before it used its unnaturally long tail to rip the spear from the hooves of an earth pony guard. There was now nothing between the four of them and the wolf. It then snapped the haft beneath its massive paw before it looked up at the four of them. Twilight noticed its nose twitching before it focused its gaze to Spike. The wolf tilted its head in what seemed to be confusion, but, with not even a flick of an ear, the wolf jumped over the now spear less guard who had attempted to tackle it from behind.
"Are you sure about that, Dash?" asked Spike
Twilight looked desperately to her mentor, "Princess, we have to stop this!"
Celestia, seeming to not have heard her student, watched as the wolf's tail coiled around a pegasus guard who tried to dive tackle it. The wolf then sent the poor guard into the only two unicorns. The second pegasus and an earth pony guard tried to catch the wolf in a pincer attack while it was distracted, only to crash into each other as the wolf leapt above them both at the last moment.
"Princess!"
"Watch, Twilight," Celestia said calmly.
"But..."
"Watch. Watch closely and tell me what you see."
Though she couldn't understand why the princess wouldn't stop the fight, Twilight obeyed and watched.
There were few things that came to the traveler as naturally as fighting. Even in his tabula state he could still feel the thrill of battle. He relished in the way he could just let go and let his instincts guide him. The way his and his opponent's bodies would collide, separate, and collide again all in attempts to break the other so completely that only death awaited the fallen. A moment in time where skill, strength, and luck all came together for one specific purpose. Victory.
This...was not one of those times.
From the very beginning, the traveler could sense the inexperience of the soldiers. First was when the newest attacked without orders, prompting the others to do the same. Second, and most importantly, none of them were aiming for a lethal strike. Why? A large creature, an obvious predator, and clearly dangerous, and still not one of them even attempted to aim for a vital. The traveler on a whim even exposed his neck to an incoming thrust, only to have the soldier adjust to his shoulder.
Whatever the reason, these equines did not want him dead. So he made the decision to return the favor.
"There's no blood," Twilight said with surprise.
Rainbow and Spike glanced at Twilight in confusion, and a little worry, while Celestia smiled, "And?"
Twilight gestured to the broken spears littering the ground, "The wolf went out of its way to destroy the guards weapons," she then gestured to the scene in front of them where the wolf was standing at the center of a ring of unarmed guards, each waiting for one to make a move. "And every move it took was a counter to any move the guards made."
As if to emphasize Twilight's point, one of the unicorn guards' horn lit up only for it to die down again when the wolf glanced in his direction. A pegasus, seeing the wolf distracted, prepared to take flight, but one of the wolf's ears flicked in his direction and the guard decided to just keep observing.
"Not once has it take an aggressive action," Twilight continued, "And the guards themselves, minus a few bruises and dented armor, nopony's been hurt."
Rainbow scratched her neck, "And that means...?"
"It means that it knew-knows how to fight without...um, seriously hurting somepony. It's either been very well trained, or," Twilight's ears perked up and she visibly brightened, "or it's intelligent! Maybe even sapient! If we could find a way to communicate with it, think of the things we could learn!" she squealed with delight, which was mostly covered by the sounds of another skirmish between the wolf and the guards. Twilight's eyes went wide when the knowledge of the current situation reasserted itself. She turned in a panic to her grinning mentor, "Princess, we need to stop this! If we-!"
Twilight was cut off by a large white feather on her lips, "I completely agree, Twilight," Celestia said, pulling her wing back, "I believe I have let this go on long enough," Celestia's horn lit up with a golden glow.
The wolf had its back turned to the princess, but one of its ears swiveled back as soon as Celestia's horn began to glow. It leapt away from the aura that began to form around it, but the princess was ready for that, and the wolf found himself wrapped in the golden glow of Celestia's magic.
"Enough!" Celestia cried, her voice echoing off the walls. The guards all froze in place, while the wolf struggled in the air. The princess levitated the wolf closer to her, and examined it with a smile. The wolf just stared back at her, inhaling slowly. "Now, if we could just-,"
Whatever the princess was about to say was cut off when the wolf let loose with an ear piercing howl. The room itself seem to vibrate against the power of the wolf's voice, and every window in the room shattered. Every pony save Celestia , and dragon covered their ears with their faces scrunched in pain. Celestia clenched her eyes shut and backed away a few paces with her ears folded tight against her head. Eventually her concentration broke and the wolf fell to its paws.
With the wolf no longer howling, Twilight managed to open an eye. Just in time to see the wolf pounced towards Celestia with its mouth open and claws extended. Before she could call out a warning, the wolf, instead of pouncing into Celestia, instead sailed over her head. It landed on her back, and launched itself towards one of the open windows, sending Celestia sprawling to the ground.
The traveler scrambled up onto the sill of the window. He spared a glance back into the room before looking through the windowless portal. The first thing he did was give a silent thanks to whatever gods watched over this world if there were any-never can be too careful-that the architects that built the castle decided to place the throne room at the top of a tower instead of in the center. On the other hand, being at the top of a tower meant that his escape would be...troublesome. Standing at the castle's base was a city, and beyond that was...is this city built into the side of a mountain? Sure enough, the tower he was in was level with the peak of a mountaintop.
Interesting,
Lowering his gaze, his eyes flowed passed the city and along a set of railroad tracks set next to the mountain. The traveler followed them down the cliff face, and there near the foot of the mountain he spotted the telltale signs of a settlement. Farther past that was a large forest that bordered the settlement, and stretched for as far as the traveler could see. The traveler could see the darkness of the forest when compared to the surrounding areas.
The traveler had his destination. Now he just needed to get there.
The traveler turned back to the throne room. The equines were just beginning to recover from his howl, but it was the rainbow one that met his eye. Something told him that she would be trouble, if her glare were anything to go by. The traveler turned his attention back outside, and quickly plotted his path off the tower, and into the city. Well, it's not like he's never been in worse situations.
The traveler's ear flicked back when the rainbow equine called out, "Where do you think you're going?"
He turned just as she flared her wings, and launched herself towards him despite the protests of the purple unicorn. With no hesitation, the traveler dropped himself out of the window. While falling, he spun himself in the air to face the tower. He moved himself closer and dug all of his claws into the stone, leaving deep furrows as he descended. His fall was slowed enough that when the next tower came into position he pushed hard off the wall. The traveler landed on the shingled roof, and immediately slid onto an inner wall. With a running start, the traveler leapt to a lower turret that held a long flagpole.
Giving another silent prayer to the gods of this world who may or may not exist, the traveler landed on the flagpole. Due to either his prayers were answered, or his luck, the flagpole, instead of snapping under his weight, bent dramatically. Eventually it snapped back into place, flinging the traveler over the rest of the castle. He landed nimbly on the castle's outer walls, and after sparing a glance to the tower that held the throne room, the traveler hopped off the wall and disappeared into the alleys of the city.
"Woah," Rainbow Dash said, astonished at what she had just witnessed. She quickly shook her head, put her forelegs to either side of her head and shouted, "Not impressed! I could do that too if I wanted!"
Twilight trotted up to the window, ":Rainbow, what happened?"
"That wolf thing just ran into the city! But don't worry, it won't get away from me!"
"No, you shouldn't..." Rainbow sped off in a blur before Twilight could finish, "...fly off by yourself," Twilight finished with a sigh.
Celestia stood by Twilight's side, "Do not worry. I'm sure Rainbow will be fine."
"Sure," Spike said, "as long as she doesn't make the not-timber wolf thing mad, or attack it."
Twilight's ears folded back, "Oh no."
Hunger gnawed at the traveler's stomach. The city's condensed layout made it easy for him to stick to the shadows of the alleys as he made his way to the train station. From his position he was able to watch the equines passing in the streets, and each time his hunger would make itself known. Between being pulled from his ship, forced into this form, and "fighting" equine knights the traveler's body was nearing exhaustion. He needed to eat.
Moving closer to the station, his gaze returned to the main streets. He noticed that the majority of the equines of the city were unicorns. Unicorns who walked with their eyes closed and their muzzles in the air. The traveler wondered how they moved around without running into anything. It was quite impressive in its own way. A bit farther on a more deserted street, he found an elderly unicorn resting against a street lamp. It's blue mane was tinged with grey, and its legs were shaking slightly. An equine way past its prime. The traveler took an unconscious step forward, his mouth salivating at the sight.
"Grandpa!"
The traveler froze as two young unicorn foals galloped to the elderly unicorn, who laughed and embraced them.
"Now what are you two doing out here?" the elder asked with suspicion. "Do your parents know where you are?"
One of the foals shook its head with a smile, "Nope!"
The three of them shared a laugh before the elder began to lead the foals away, "Alright, well as long as they don't find out, let's get some sweets." The foals cheered and the three of them turned a corner and out of sight.
The traveler stepped out onto the deserted street, and watched the three equines walk away. From the large winged horned equine, to the city populated with unicorns, the traveler thought it was a safe assumption that the equines were the dominant species of this world. Not only that, they were obviously sapient. The traveler chastised himself for nearly letting his hunger control him. He lifted a paw to his face. A world of equines, and this world decided on a form that was obviously meant to prey upon them. However with the way he was brought to this world, no personality was imprinted on him. The traveler turned away with determination reflected in his eyes. This world may have given him the form of a monster, but he would not become one.
Deciding not to eat the equines was all well and good, but he still needed to eat something soon. The traveler once again began his journey to this city's train station. But first he needed to find his bearings, so he jumped between the narrow walls of an alley until he landed on the roof of a building. Judging by the position of the sun, assuming it followed a set path like most worlds, it was a little past midday. He quickly scanned the city and found his destination.
"Found you!"
The traveler spun around and saw the rainbow equine glaring at him from the opposite rooftop. Her eyes were narrowed, and her mouth was curled up in a triumphant smirk.
"Thought you could get away from me, huh? Well you're looking at Rainbow Dash! The fastest..." The traveler spun back around and fled over the buildings towards the station, "...wha? Hey get back here, I wasn't done!" Rainbow took wing and gave chase.
The traveler dropped down into another alley to avoid the pegasus' tackle, and dashed into the streets startling a larger than average white unicorn and her companion. The traveler spent little time pondering over the unicorn's companion's clothing and made a beeline for the next alley.
"You won't get away!" Rainbow shouted following the traveler from the skies.
He darted between multiple alleys, scrambled over buildings, and even threw loose debris all in attempt to shake his pursuer. All to no avail. Persistent, the traveler stopped in the middle of an empty street and thought to himself, Am I feeling...frustration? Interesting. He turned slowly just as Rainbow Dash landed.
"As I was saying, my name's Rainbow Dash, the fastest flier in Equestria."
The traveler tilted his head at the peagasus' proclamation.
"So now that you know who you're dealing with, ready to give up?"
Persistent, and arrogant. The traveler narrowed his eyes and lowered his stance, but a high pitched whistle made him turn away from the pegasus.
Rainbow scoffed, "Forget it. There's no way you'll...what are you doing?"
The traveler had brought his tail around to his forelegs and unlatched each of his cuffs before pulling them off. With the cuffs safely gripped in his tail, the traveler stretched as strength returned to his body in force. On a whim, the traveler winked to Rainbow Dash before turning his back on her. With the newfound power coursing through him, the traveler's paws made four small craters in the cobbled road as he took off running at a much greater speed than Dash thought possible for a creature without wings. The city around him became a blur, walls became vertical roads, and even when he passed through populated areas the citizens only glimpsed a black blur.
Seconds after leaving Rainbow Dash behind, the station came into view just as the train began pulling away. The traveler identified a cargo car, and quickly jumped aboard and disappeared inside. He was surrounded by luggage of all sizes, but he didn't lower his guard. His ears swiveled around as he listened for any sounds of alarm. When the only things he heard were the clacking of the train's wheels did the traveler finally relax. Sitting on the car's surprisingly clean floor, the traveler reattached his cuffs. As soon as the latches were in place, he was nearly overcome with a wave of fatigue. His heart beat rapidly in his chest, he struggled to control his breathing, and his hunger intensified.
After a few minutes his heartbeat returned to normal, but the hunger remained. Ignoring this for now, the traveler closed his eyes. Shift. Nothing happened. Shift. Still nothing.
Sid and Essi's words about the properties of this world returned to the traveler's mind, and he sighed. It seems until my body acclimates to the magic of this world, I'm stuck in this form. Not the first time the traveler visited a world where its magic overwhelmed his own, but it was no less annoying.
The traveler laid down and rested his head atop his forelegs. He decided that the moment the train stopped he would disembark and make his way to the forest. With any luck the train would stop in some unimportant town in the middle of nowhere, so he could quietly slip into the wild. If that large equine back in the castle was indeed the leader of the smaller equines, then it was possible that that city was the capitol. In a world like this, it was more than likely that any important events or changes to the world would happen there.
As he drifted into a soft sleep, the traveler was confident that the duration of his stay in this world would be relatively uneventful.
"The wolf thing escaped on the express train to Ponyville!" Rainbow cried when she flew back to the throne room.
Twilight suppressed a sigh, Of course it is.
Celestia, hearing Rainbow Dash's report, spoke to one of her guards. The stallion saluted before galloping off.
"How'd it get away from you?" Spike asked, "I thought you were supposed to be the 'fastest flier in Equestria.'"
Rainbow glared, "Hey, it wasn't my fault! So I was chasing it right? Nearly lost the thing when it went into the city, but then it jumped up on a roof..." Rainbow continued her story with obvious embellishments-did she really expect them to believe the wolf threw an entire market's worth of produce at her?-when she said something that caught Celestia's attention. "Then it took off those metal bracelet thingies and suddenly it's moving faster than I've ever seen!" Rainbow thought for a moment before quickly adding, "Not as fast as me of course, but still pretty fast!"
Celestia tapped her chin, "Inhibitors..."
Twilight looked up, "What was that, princess?"
Celestia smiled at her student, "It is nothing. Now, I believe it is time for the three of you to return to Ponyville. I've arranged travel for you, so you should arrive only a few minutes after the creature. When you confront it, I trust you'll do your best to establish some sort of dialogue with it. However, be cautious. It is obviously much smarter than it appears."
Rainbow, Twilight, and Spike all bowed and Rainbow said, "Don't worry, princess. The thing won't get away from me again."
Celestia smiled warmly at her subjects, "I don't doubt that."
The traveler jolted awake as the train began to slow. Soon the equines would come for their luggage, and he needed to be gone before that happened. Feeling slightly refreshed from his brief nap, the traveler spared a moment to stretch his muscles. He climbed atop a small pile, and opened a hatch. Lifting himself out of the car, the traveler's fur whipped in the wind as the train sped along. Following the train with his eyes, he spied the approaching town getting larger with every passing second. The traveler didn't want to cause an unnecessary panic, so he leapt from the still moving train.
The traveler rolled slightly as his body hit the ground, and he was back on his paws watching the train pull into the town. He soon began to take in his surroundings. An open field to his left led to a sparse woodland, and the town lied ahead with the path to the equine capitol behind. The dark forest he spied from the castle lied to his right, but he didn't immediately head for it. Instead his gaze was drawn back to the town ahead, and a new emotion bubbled to the surface.
Curiosity.
Not a full day has passed since he was pulled into this world as a blank, and not one, but two emotions returned to him. Perhaps there was something about this world, or maybe his limited interactions with its inhabitants that were affecting him. So instead of heading to the forest where a possible meal and safety from any pursuer waited for him, the traveler decided to indulge his curiosity and headed for the town, and ignored his stomach's grab for attention.
With this town being a good distance from the capitol, and by consequence any important figures, the traveler had very little chance of becoming involved in any important events. He's been a background character before, and he was determined to be one again.
Ponyville was abuzz with activity underneath the afternoon sun. The market was alive with the sounds of ponies hawking and bartering their wares. The park was filled with them relaxing on the cool grass, stallions walking side by side with prettied up mares, and foals darting to and fro, playing games as children do. Three particular fillies disturbed the peaceful scene when they shouted simultaneously, "CUTIE MARK CRUSADER LUMBERJACKS, YAY!" before they galloped off.
If it weren't for the few still ruined buildings, and smoldering craters, one wouldn't believe that just a few hours earlier the town was nearly destroyed by a Tartarus beast. Just another day in the life for the ponies of Ponyville.
While most ponies were busy finishing up repairs, or running their businesses, none noticed the black shadow that passed between buildings. A few would get a feeling of being watched, only to find nothing when they turned around. They would shrug it off as nothing and go about their day, not knowing that something was there.
The traveler had been studying the town for a good while now, and found more questions than answers. The town's buildings were reminiscent of old Earth English village architecture, with thatched roofs and being made mostly of wood. However he also spied what appeared to be a movie theatre, complete with cardboard cutouts of coming attractions. Aside from the size of the doors, they all seemed to have knobs meant for a creature with opposable thumbs, but he saw ponies opening them with their hooves with no problems. The equines manually pulled their carriages around the town, and he also spotted an equine devoid of either a horn or wings controlling a hot air balloon.
If the town itself confused him, then the equines themselves left him baffled. Once he spotted an equine buying a bouquet of flowers, only to devour them a few moments later. When he closed his eyes he could imagine the equines being human, until they'd say odd phrases like "everypony."
Ponies, huh?
Deciding that he's seen enough, the traveler made his way to the edge of town. He soon found himself at the edge of an apple orchard. The rows of trees went on for miles and the red fruit tempted him, but his nose caught whiff of a much greater prize. Following the scent led him to a large red barn near the edge. Entering from the front was out of the question, so he circled around to the back where he found an open window near the top. The traveler retreated a few paces back before sprinting towards and up the barn's back wall. He entered through the window and onto the barn's loft with little difficulty.
The traveler kept low to the floor and crawled to peer over the edge. The barn held what one would expect, farming tools lined one wall and a sawhorse sat against another. Hay was piled here and there, and a few stables lined the wall directly below him. It was in one of the stables, where a large cow was lazily chewing hay, where the traveler focused his attention. The traveler lifted himself slightly, and moved to a position where he could easily strike down the bovine without making any unnecessary noise. He raised his rump and tensed his legs in preparation to pounce, but before he could make his move the barn doors burst open.
The traveler dropped to his stomach as a pony walked in. With his time studying the town, the traveler was able to discern that with this pony's curved muzzle and thinner frame, that it was a mare. An orange coated pony mare who wore a brown stetson hat on a mane of gold. She walked up to the cow with a bright smile and said, "Howdy there, Jesebelle!"
The traveler's brow raised at the pony's accent, and her mane and tail with were tied into ponytails. The traveler wondered briefly if that was what the hairstyle was called here.
"Takin' a bit longer with yer lunch, ain'tcha? Ya'll ready to join the others?" the pony opened the stable door.
The traveler lifted himself slowly, while cursing his luck. If he wanted to eat, he would now have to knock this pony unconscious. Things have become more complicated than they needed to be.
The traveler prepared to pounce again, but was stopped by another unexpected turn as the cow began to speak, "Thank you, Applejack. Guess I just lost track of time," the cow giggled softly, "I suppose some fresh air would do me some good."
"Ah reckon it would. Hop to it then, Clara's been askin' about you." the pony and the cow started to walk away side by side.
"Oh that girl cannot rest until she's told everycow the latest gossip."
Applejack chuckled, "Ah can understand that. Ah've told ya about mah friend Rarity. She..." their voices trailed off.
The traveler dropped down to the ground floor and stared after the pony and cow. So the cows are sapient as well. His situation seemed to be becoming worse if even the livestock were as much citizens as the ponies. If so, then killing and eating them would be out of the question.
A sweet smell distracted him from his thoughts, and he turned. Beneath the loft sat many barrels, and each was giving off the sweet scent. He walked up to one and nudged it. The sound of a liquid sloshing around could be heard inside. Another barrel's top was open, revealing many, many apples. The traveler's stomach decided that it was tired of being ignored, and sent a stab of pain through him. Fine. Better than nothing, I guess. He snapped the fruit between his jaws, and then another, and another.
The apples were among the sweetest fruits he's ever tasted, as well as satisfyingly crunchy. Though the traveler was rarely partial to sweets, he still enjoyed their taste. After a few minutes, the barrel of apples was nearly empty and thirst replaced his hunger. He returned to the closed barrel with the liquid inside. Opening the barrel was a bit of a challenge, but he managed to make a hole in the top large enough to stick his head through. Tasting the liquid revealed it to be a cider, so he began to greedily drink his fill.
Though his sense of smell was heightened in his current form, it was being overwhelmed by the cider. However he was able to hear the orange pony's shout, "WHAT IN TARNATION?!"
Slowly the traveler lifted his head, excess cider dripping from his muzzle, and turned to face the mare. The pony's eyes from surprise, to fear, to anger as she took in the scene before her. Nostril's flaring, the pony pulled a length of rope from...somewhere behind her, "Alright, critter. It's time ya'll leaned just what happens when someone dares to steal from mah farm!"
Fully facing the pony, the traveler bared his teeth and growled menacingly.
"Grrr, yerself!" the mare said as she began twirling the rope between her teeth.
He stopped growling, Impressive, this one is far braver than the knights. Well if she won't be intimidated... The traveler coiled his tail around a barrel behind him, and threw it directly at the farm pony. With a shout of surprise, Applejack leapt out of the way and the barrel sailed out of the barn with the traveler trailing in its wake.
He was well into the orchard when he heard the sounds of pursuit. "Git back here, ya varmint!" Applejack shouted through clenched teeth. The farm pony chased the traveler through the orchard never gaining ground but also never losing it. Even after his small meal of apples, the traveler was still far from being back at his full strength. And unfortunately for him, the mare knew the orchard better than any and had been leading him right into a clearing.
Applejack smiled. With no trees to get in the way, she twirled her lasso and let loose with it just as the thieving creature jumped over a protruding boulder. The rope caught his right hind leg, Gotcha! she thought to herself, but before she could pull the rope taught, it turned in midair and snapped the rope between its jaws. The creature landed on its feet and scampered off, leaving Applejack dumbfounded and holding the other end of the severed rope.
She snapped out of her stupor when a large red stallion galloped up to her, "AJ!" he cried frantically in a deep voice.
"Ah know, some thieving critter raided the last of our cider."
"Eeyup."
"Does Granny know?"
He shook his head, "Nope."
Lucky for it, she thought. Out loud she said, "Alright, you go back to the barn in case it decides it wants seconds," Applejack pulled her hat lower, "Ah'm going on a hunt."
The traveler had lost the farm pony a ways back, but still found himself surrounded by apple trees. How large is this farm? he pondered. The traveler slowed to a brisk walk before stopping completely in front of a blackened tree, its limbs like skeletal fingers reaching into the sky. Around him showed the same devastation. Ah covered earth, and bare trees and stumps made a stark contrast to the orchard just a few feet behind. The smell of sulfur was so pungent that the traveler scrunched his muzzle. A demon has been here. The traveler began to rethink his view of this world.
"C'mon, it'll be easy!"
"I don't know. Shouldn't we wait?"
But who knows when they'll be back. This might be our only chance!"
Three voices, you by the traveler's guess, led him through more of the destroyed orchard. Here and there lied tools like axes, and a large saw was stuck inside a tree as if its operators stopped halfway through. Perhaps the owners of the orchard hired lumberjacks to rip down the destroyed trees. He peered around a rather think tree and saw three small ponies around a dead tree. A yellow coated one with a red bow, and an orange pegasus struggled beneath the weight of a giant saw while a unicorn with a mane of two colors looked on with concern.
The unicorn sighed, "It's just I've been cut enough times by sharp tools while cooking that I'm a little nervous around really, really big sharp tools."
The peagasus gave the unicorn a knowing smirk, "What's the matter, Sweetie Belle? Chicken?"
The unicorn scowled at the pegasus, but the yellow one dropped her end of the saw, "Ah think she has a point, Scootaloo," she said with an accent that reminded the traveler of the apple farmer he "met" at the barn. The filly picked up an ax, "Maybe we should start with this instead?"
Sweetie Belle stomped a hoof in frustration, "That's not what I meant at all, Apple Bloom!"
The traveler turned away, Children will always be children. The traveler walked away as the fillies began arguing amongst themselves. He didn't see the yellow pony named Apple Bloom throw the ax against the dead tree, but he did hear the resulting snap and subsequent snapping of wood. He turned In time to see the tree begin to fall towards the three fillies. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both jumped away in time, but Apple Bloom was frozen in place.
"Apple Bloom!"
"Move!"
The traveler moved on instinct.
Apple Bloom curled up closed her eyes as the tree fell. She jumped when she heard the tree crash, but she felt no pain. Slowly she opened her eyes. She saw the splintered base of the dead tree and the trunk seemed to hover above her.
"Apple Bloom," she heard Sweetie Belle call her name. Apple Bloom's eyes found her friends, but they weren't looking at her but at something behind her. She followed their gaze and was met with a furry leg. Following it up revealed a creature that reminded her of her dog, only much, much larger.
The big dog stared down at her with a brown eye, and Apple Bloom's fear returned. Had it come to eat her? If so, then why was it just staring? Did it want her to run, to chase her down? As if to answer her questions, the dog bared its fangs. However instead of growling, it let out a small whimper and its knees buckled slightly. It was then that Apple Bloom the fallen tree on the dog's back. When it caught Apple Bloom's eye again, the dog gestured with its head for her to move away. It took Apple Bloom longer than she'd ever admit for her to understand the gesture, and trot over to her friends. Once out of danger of being crushed, the dog shrugged off the tree and it hit the ground with a resounding thud. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo wrapped Apple Bloom in a group hug. For what seemed an eternity the three friends just held each other, relieved that they all came out of this incident unharmed.
Their group hug transformed into a cuddle of fear as the three remembered the large dog not three feet from them. The dog cast its gaze among the three before turning away. Confused, the Crusaders watched it leave in confusion. The dog only made it a few feet before it collapsed in a heap. Without thinking, Apple Bloom broke away from her fellow Crusaders and galloped to the dog.
Scootaloo reached out, "Apple Bloom, what are you doing? We need to get out of here!"
Sweetie Belle just nodded vigorously in agreement, but Apple Bloom said, "But Ah think it's hurt,"
"So what? That thing's big enough to gobble us up in one bite!"
Apple Bloom glared at her pegasus friend, "It saved me! You both saw it!"
Scootaloo's ears folded back, "Yeah but..."
"If it wanted ta eat us, then why was it leaving?"
Sweetie and Scootaloo exchanged glances before Sweetie said, "M-maybe it's trying to lure us into a false sense of security."
Apple Bloom just raised a brow at that before walking around to the dog's head. She pulled back a bit when she saw the dog looking right at her, but she pushed her fear down and slowly approached. Putting a smile on her face, she said quietly, "Hey there," before she lifted a hoof and lowered it softly on the dog's head.
There was little that irritated the traveler more than feigning weakness. However, at the moment it was necessary. The tree he prevented from crushing the little filly was much heavier than he had anticipated and it very nearly broke his back. Now he had to act like an injured pup to prevent the little ones from running to their guardians. The little bit of energy he regained from eating the apples was now being used to heal his back, and he could already feel the hunger returning. All in all, it has really not been the traveler's day.
The traveler watched the little yellow pony approach, her scent similar to the orange pony he had fled from. If the two were related, it showed in her bravery when she laid a hoof gently upon his head. The pony began to pet him, saying words of comfort, and he resisted the urge to pull away. He needed the fillies to stay close, so he had to play the part. He looked into the pony's eyes and gave her the best "puppy dog" look he could muster, and given his current form, it doubled its effectiveness, as well as let out a tiny whimper.
As he expected. the pony was powerless against the double onslaught, "Aw, it's okay," She cooed, "We'll getcha fixed up in no time."
"And how are we gonna do that?" he heard the pegasus ask.
"Fluttershy!" the traveler hid a wince at the unicorn's high pitched cry. "Fluttershy knows all about animals. She even takes care of a manticore from time to time."
Manticore?
"I'm sure she'll know what to do."
"One problem though," the traveler heard the pegasus walk the length of his body before she came into view. "How are we gonna get this thing all the way to Fluttershy's?"
The yellow pony looked at her flatly, "Maybe you use your scooter ta get to Fluttershy's and bring her here?"
"Oh, that makes sense," the pegasus smiled sheepishly. Soon the pegasus was astride scooter, and a helmet rested on her head, "Back in a flash," she said before her tiny wings buzzed rapidly. She then took off at impressive speeds. The traveler committed her scent to memory his memory. If this Fluttershy cared for animals, then perhaps he could find shelter there until he recovered.
The little ponies began to talk between each other. The unicorn even found enough courage to pet him, to which the traveler fealt conflicted about. Hooves weren't the softest appendage after all. But there was on topic of theirs that caught his attention.
"So what are we gonna call it?" the unicorn asked.
"What d'ya mean?"
"Well he needs a name, so..."
The yellow pony tapped her chin, "Well how 'bout..."
The two fillies spent the next few minutes tossing names around. Most were ridiculous, but the traveler made note to remember a few stand outs. Normally when the traveler enters a world he's imprinted with both a personality and a name. As he is now, he was in a unique position to choose a name for himself. At the moment though his identity was as blank as the little fillies flanks.
Choosing a name would have to wait though, as his back had healed. Now all he needed was a distraction to quietly slip away from the little ponies.
His ears twitched when he heard a familiar voice cry out, "APPLE BLOOM!"
Hello, distraction.
Apple Bloom's ears perked up when she heard her name being called and her face brightened, "Applejack!" she called back, stepping around the dog to meet her sister with Sweetie Belle following behind. Applejack let out a relieved sigh at the sight of her little sister and her friend emerging from the trees unharmed.
"Apple Bloom, Ah..." Applejack began but was interrupted by the pair of excited fillies talking over each other. From what Applejack could piece together was that the thieving wolf was here, and it was hurt.
Applejack stomped her hoof, silencing the fillies, "Take me to it," her tone leaving no room for arguments. The girls complied and led Applejack to where they had left their new friend, only to find the clearing empty.
"Wha? Where'd he go?" Apple Bloom asked nopony in particular.
Applejack narrowed her eyes slightly, "Girls, where's Scootaloo?"
The traveler wasted no time. Once the little ponies were out of sight he quickly followed the trail left by the little pegasus. He made a silent vow to himself to repay the fillies' for their kindness.
That thought made him stop dead. He genuinely felt gratitude towards the little ones. Not only that, thinking back he could remember feeling something else. Fear. When he saw that tree come down, he was afraid for the pony's life. There was now little doubt in the traveler's mind. This world was changing him much faster than any before. Picking up on the you pegasus' trail again, he resolved to reach this Fluttershy's place. With any luck he would find the time to finally think on his current situation, and his plans going forward.
The traveler emerged from the dense woods, having left the orchard a while ago, and came upon a cottage resting on a small hill.
"What do you mean she's not here?" the voice of the pegasus caused the traveler to drop low back into the trees. After a few moments the pegasus rolled passed the traveler, mumbling something about a "stupid, unhelpful rabbit" before she left his sight. He waited a few more moments before reemerging from the wood, and cautiously approached the house.
The air was filled with the scents of many different animals, but that wasn't surprising to him if she truly was a caretaker. Nor was he too surprised at the sight of a large bear sharing its catch of fish with a small cat, though that did give him pause. What really caught the traveler's sight was the small stream that ran at the foot of the small hill, and under a bridge before flowing into the woods. The cider back at the barn was nice, but the farmer pony arrived before he was fully able to quench his thirst.
The traveler slowly made his way to the stream, his presence not going unnoticed by the various animals around the cottage. They all stopped to watch the new, strange creature with a mix of caution, intrigue, and a bit of fear. The traveler paid them all no mind as he began to drink. The water was among the purest he's had in memory, and was quite cool. He drank for a good period of time, stopping twice to drink air, before he raised his head one final time.
He licked the excess water from his muzzle, but before he could turn away the water began to still and he caught sight of his reflection. Since he arrived in this world he had not seen himself properly. The traveler just assumed that his face was the same as always when he's in his wolf form, but the face staring back at him was quite different. Though not as large as the pony's eyes, his were still noticeably larger and were a much more vibrant shade of brown. His muzzle was also smaller, but something seemed off about it. Leaning closer he lifted a paw to it. His jaw seemed way more flexible than normal, his lips could move in ways impossible while a wolf before, and after a few experimental coughs, he found his voice wasn't nearly as rough. Is it possible? Could I be able...?
A chattering from the other side of the stream broke his concentration. A small white rabbit was trying to get his attention, and it didn't look to happy. It scowled at the traveler while pointing at him and then to the woods he came from. The traveler tilted his head to one side as the rabbit repeated the motions, his scowl deepening. Shrugging, the traveler stepped over the stream and the rabbit, and made his way to the cottage's back yard. Small animals scurried out of his way and were ultimately ignored, even the bear kept its distance, but the rabbit from before constantly tried to stop him.
Despite the rabbit's effort's, the traveler walked up to a large tree with relatively low hanging branches. The tree provided a nice comfortable shadow, so the traveler turned his back to it before lying down at its base. He curled his body up and wrapped his tail around himself. This was truly a peaceful area. He imagined it would be a bit nicer if the birds weren't silent in their caution of him, but that was of little consequence. He decided to rest before he really thought about his situation.
He was so focused on the sound of the stream, that he didn't notice a yellow pony cower near the cottage, or hear her small, "Eeep!"
When Rainbow Dash told her about a monster loose in Ponyville, Fluttershy hoped-prayed that she would never be anywhere near it. Even with Twilight's assurance that Princess Celestia believed it to be relatively harmless, Rainbows story about how it defeated fifty guards didn't help her imagine it as "harmless." So when she saw the figure of a large wolf sleeping in her backyard, it goes without saying that Fluttershy was a bit nervous. She hid herself behind her house with her heart pounding in her chest.
"What do I do? What do I do?" she asked herself. She peeked around the corner, hoping that maybe, just maybe the monster had gone. To her dismay it was still lying beneath the tree. "Maybe...maybe I should go get Twilight?" she said, beginning to back away slowly, "Or Rainbow Dash, or any other pony. Yes, I'm sure another pony will no what to do," but before she could take off, a high pitched chirping reached her ears. Fluttershy recognized the sound and turned back to the where the monster was sleeping. In the branches above it sat a nest that housed a family of blue jays.
The chirping came from a small chick that stood at the edge of the nest with its parents standing protectively on either side. Fluttershy smiled when she realized that it must be time for the chick to take its first flight. Forgetting about the monster for the moment, Fluttershy sat and watched the momentous occasion. She was soon joined by the other animals under her care.
The chick must have noticed the attention it was drawing to itself as it tried to step back into the safety of the nest, but the papa wouldn't have it. Papa blue jay did what all good parent birds did when it was time for their chicks to leave the nest, and pushed it off the branch. Fluttershy had seen this a thousand times before, but couldn't shake the nervousness. What if the chick wasn't ready? What if it was caught in a freak updraft, sending it into the tree and crushing its fragile skull? Fluttershy shook her head to rid herself of those thoughts. It would do no good to dwell on those thoughts. She needed to be ready in case something really does go wrong.
Something like the chick clipping its wing on a stray twig and spiraling out of control. Fluttershy's ears splayed back when she realized that that's exactly what was happening. Reacting on instinct, Fluttershy launched herself towards the falling chick. She needed to catch it before...before a large wolf jumped up and snapped up the chick in mid-air.
Fluttershy's world froze when the chick disappeared inside the monster wolf's massive jaws. Why? she asked herself distraught. Taking care of multitudes of different animals, including carnivores, Fluttershy was no stranger to animals eating each other, but this...this was just cruel! Her sadness quickly turned to anger. It was just a baby! It never even got to enjoy its first flight! Fluttershy was determined to teach this wolf a lesson it wouldn't soon forget!
She was halfway to giving the wolf the sternest talking to when she noticed it climbing the tree. Was it now going after the chick's parents? "Oh no you don't!" Fluttershy increased her speed. The wolf had just reached the branch that held the nest, now empty with Mama and Papa blue jay flying safely out of reach. The wolf hung right next to the nest, giving no visible signs that it noticed that it was empty. Instead it leaned its head into the nest and opened his mouth.
Fluttershy froze mid-flight. There, sitting on the wolf's tongue, was the baby blue jay. Shaken, covered in drool, but still very much alive. The wolf extended its tongue and gently placed the chick back in the nest. After the wolf hopped back down to the base of the tree, Mama and Papa blue jay returned to their nest and embraced their chick, tweeting happily. Once the wolf touched back down on the grass, it laid down curled itself up once again.
shy wasn't sure how to react, so she just hovered and stared at the wolf. She gave a start when Papa blue jay glided down and landed in front of the wolf who's ears perked up. It raised its head and gave Papa blue jay its full attention. The bird tweeted its thanks and bowed slightly. The wolf blinked before nodding in acknowledgement, then laid it's head back down.
Soon after many different animals around Fluttershy's house emerged to greet the wolf, and give it their individual thanks. Even though it didn't raise its head, the wolf's ears flicked at each new arrival, and every now and then it would open one eye. Even a white kitty found a place to rest on the wolfs back.
Fluttershy landed and wondered what would be the best way to approach the wolf.
Perhaps saving the bird was a mistake, the traveler thought to himself as a family of squirrels ran across his paws. When the large bird thanked him (at least that's what the traveler assumed it did) the animals around the cottage grew more comfortable with him. Much to his annoyance. All he wanted was a quiet place to rest, but now...now there was a cat sleeping on his back and every animal was coming out of the woodwork to greet him. The traveler had to admit though that he was surprised at the level of sentience the animals displayed. Some, like the white rabbit from before, seemed to even border on sapient.
Speaking of the white rabbit, the traveler opened a brown eye at the familiar fuzzball. It folded its tiny arms over its chest and gave the traveler an inquisitive look. It then gave him a curt nod before it held out a paw. The traveler resisted a strong urge to punt the rabbit across the field, and instead placed the tip of his tail in the rabbit's paw. The rabbit shook it once before smiling. The traveler's attention was so focused on the rabbit that he didn't notice the pink maned pegasus until it landed just behind the rabbit. On reflex the traveler's head shot up, he bared his fangs and growled at the newcomer. Unlike the apple pony from before, the pegasus' eyes widened and she trembled, but she didn't run. Perhaps she was literally frozen in fear? If she wouldn't leave, then the traveler had to move, but before he did the rabbit jumped up and down in front of him.
The traveler stopped growling and turned his attention to the rabbit. It made gestures to the fear stricken pony while chattering wildly. The traveler tried to make sense of the rabbit's dance. First it pointed to the pegasus, then the cottage, then to itself and the other animals all the while squeaking in what the traveler thought was some sort of language. The traveler tilted his head in confusion, but from what he could gather, the pegasus lived in the house with all these animals. If that was true, then it wouldn't be too farfetched to believed that she was this Fluttershy that the little ponies were talking about
He turned his gaze once again to the pegasus, and relaxed. Seeing this, the pegasus let out a small breath before smiling at him. The traveler took this, and the rabbit's word that he was in no immediate danger, and laid his head down once again.
The wolf seemed to understand what Angel was saying, so Fluttershy took a cautious step forward. Should...should I introduce myself? she thought, Oh! I should probably thank it for saving the chick. Steeling herself with a few breaths, Fluttershy said, "Um, I just wanted to..." before the wolf placed the tip of its tail against her lips, effectively silencing her. W-what did I do? After a moment the wolf's tail pulled back, "Oh um, I..." only to have it silence her once again. Maybe...maybe it wants to sleep? When the wolf's tail pulled back again she said, "S-sorry, I know...EEP!" the tip of the wolf's tail curled and lightly flicked Fluttershy's muzzle. "W-why would you...EEP!" the wolf flicked her again. Fluttershy opened her mouth to protest, but covered it with a hoof when the wolf's tail curled threateningly.
Rapid squeaks drew Fluttershy's attention down near her hooves where Angel was laughing up a storm. Fluttershy glared lightly at him, "Angel, it's not nice to...EEP!" she was flicked a third time, sending Angel into more hysterics. Maybe I should just go get Twilight. When she took a few steps back, the wolf curled its tail around itself, and at that moment Fluttershy was sorely tempted to give it a good scratch behind the ears. Though there was something telling her that it wouldn't appreciate being treated like a puppy, no matter how adorable she thought it looked with its tail around itself like that. Fluttershy felt her hoof reach out, Maybe just a little...
"Fluttershy, look out!"
Fluttershy's hoof snapped back, and she scanned the skies to find a rainbow streak circling around her house. Rainbow Dash? It was then that Fluttershy remembered that both Twilight and Rainbow were looking for this wolf, and when she remembered the reason she took off to meet Rainbow in the air, "Rainbow, wait! Stop!"
Rainbow Dash screeched to a halt, "Wha-Fluttershy? What are you doing?"
"Please don't hurt him!"
Rainbow scowled, "Ugh, I don't have time for this! It's getting away!"
Fluttershy glanced behind her. The kitten that was resting on the wolf's back was lying peacefully on the grass with the wolf a mere speck on the horizon. Rainbow, taking advantage of Fluttershy's distraction, sped past her. In a surprising display of both speed and strength, Fluttershy latched on to Rainbow's tail, holding her back.
"Fluttershy...let...me...go!"
"No!...He's...friendly!"
The traveler had underestimated the rainbow pony's persistence. Lucky for him, that Fluttershy proved an adequate distraction, and he escaped the blue mare once more. Though a question rose in his mind. Why did Fluttershy help him? Was it repayment for saving the bird? Or was it, because of his current form, she felt an obligation to help him? Whatever her reasons, the cottage and both pegasi were far behind.
The traveler had his sights set on the forest ahead. He felt that it was time to disappear before...
"Hi!"
The traveler let out a yelp of surprise when his vision was obscured by a pink cloud. He abruptly stopped, sending the pink mass over his head and into a nearby bush. The mass pulled itself out of the bush with an audible pop-What? - and turned to him. The mass turned out to be a pony with a pink coat, a darker pink mane, and blue eyes. It-she was one of the ponies without either a horn or wings.
"I'm okay!" she said with a huge grin.
The traveler looked over his shoulder at an empty field with only a single boulder in sight, before turning back to the pony with a bemused look on his face. How...where...this pony. She was able to catch me by surprise. She should not be underestimated. The traveler watched the pink pony closely as she happily walked up to him.
And then she started talking, Hi, my name's Pinkie Pie, and Twilight, you know that purple unicorn that brought you here? Well, she said that she thinks that you're really, really smart and not just a big doggie even though you look like one and are really really cute! Anyway I say to myself, 'Pinkie,' that's me, 'Pinkie, you should find this doggie that's not a doggie and introduce yourself!' So now that I found you I can invite you to your 'Welcome to Ponyville!' party, but..."
The wolf placed his tail on the pony's lips and, like with Fluttershy, she was silenced. And I thought the rainbow pony was chatty. To think she could say all of that in a single breath. This pony is quite formidable, and...is she still talking? Sure enough the pink mare, Pinkie Pie if he heard correctly, was mumbling behind his tail and making gestures with her hooves.
Curious, he pulled his tail away, "...and then Rainbow said you took on a hundred guards at once, but nopony got hurt and that means you're a good doggie, right? Of course you are! So there's no need to run..."
The traveler silenced her again, Something about this pony seems...off compared to the others. I wonder...if I were to bind with her... he shook his head, No, I shouldn't stay in this world longer than necessary. I must take shelter in the forest he focused back to Pinkie Pie, but first... The traveler pulled his tail away from her, and she launched into another high speed monologue, or was it the same one? He looked over the pony's shoulder at the empty fields, and put on his best surprised face.
"Ooh ohh, what is it?" Pinkie asked excitedly turning fully around.
The traveler fled in the opposite direction. Without being at full strength he knew that he couldn't outrun this mare, but that was not his plan.
"Wait come back! Tell me what you saw!" as the traveler suspected, Pinkie Pie was following him and gaining ground.
The traveler dragged his tail through the ground, creating a small trail as he ran. The traveler zigzagged, circled around, and doubled back not attempting to shake Pinkie, but as an experiment. As he thought, Pinkie followed the trail exactly. Even when he drew the trail one way while going another, she would follow. Confident in his plan, the traveler picked up speed while Pinkie matched it, and headed for the lone boulder.
When he drew close, the traveler jumped over it while he drew the trail directly into it. He landed softly and waited for the inevitable. It came a few moments later with a loud smack, and the boulder visibly shaking. Carefully the traveler stepped around the stone. He found Pinkie laying at its base with the impression of her head a little above where she lay. Maybe I overdid it, he thought to himself after nudging the mare a few times with his tail. He laid a paw on her withers and turned her over. He took this opportunity to study her closely.
She shared many of the same traits as the other equines. It seems the only truly unique features among them were the markings on their flanks. He leaned closer to inspect the three balloons when the scent of a bakery caught his attention. The traveler assumed that she was connected to the gingerbread building back in the town. He wondered how a pony with no horn with which to use magic could hold a baking pan. He cupped a hoof with his tail and inspected it closely. No kind of suction cup, nor any tiny hairs for gripping could be seen. Other than being surprisingly soft, the pony's hoof wasn't much different than an Earth horse's. Lowering her hoof, the traveler decided to borrow a book on pony anatomy at the first opportunity. Assuming of course that ponies had books.
Deciding that he learned all that he could from the pink pony without getting too invasive, the traveler turned to leave, only to run into a purple wall. It shined before him and wouldn't yield to any pressure, so the traveler back up a few paces only to run into another wall. He didn't need to look around to realize what had happened. He was caught, and he had his suspicions about who managed that. Turning only confirmed them.
The purple unicorn from the throne room stared at him, her horn alight with a purple aura, and a smug smile on her face.
Twilight couldn't feel more proud at the moment. Not only did she manage to capture a creature that she herself had summoned, but she was able to do so with the help of one of her best friends. "Okay, Pinkie," she said, "You can get up now."
The pink pony giggled and jumped to her hooves, "Okie dokie lokie!" Twilight's smile grew when she saw the surprised look on the creatures face.
So she was feigning unconsciousness, the traveler thought as Pinkie Pie bounced-literally bounced -over to the purple unicorn. I underestimated these ponies. A mistake I will endeavor to not make again. The traveler lifted a paw and struck the purple barrier. It shimmered but remained solid.
Twilight giggled when the creature attacked her shield spell, "That won't work," she said walking up to the barrier, "My brother, who specializes in shield spells, taught me this spell. It was designed to absorb any and all physical attacks. And I'm afraid you won't be able to howl your way out of this either. I modified the spell to make it completely soundproof," Twilight's eyes widened in realization, "Which means that you have no idea what I just said."
The traveler watched the purple unicorn's gestures and mouth movements and concluded that this barrier was soundproof. An assumption that was all but confirmed when the unicorn's ears splayed back and she slapped her face with a hoof. A move that caught the traveler off guard with how human in looked. He put that at the back of his mind for now.
A thought came to him, and he lifted a paw again. While watching the unicorn, who was engaged in a conversation with Pinkie Pie, he struck the shield once more. His efforts were rewarded with nothing more than a small eye twitch. Small, but enough to know what he needed to do.
The traveler unlatched and removed his cuffs for a second time, and his previous fatigue faded though not as much as he would have liked. He searched inside himself for his reserves of energy and found them unnervingly low. He hadn't realized how the recent events had taken their toll on him. He wondered that, after he enacted his plan, if he would have enough energy to continue his flight, but he thought trying was better than waiting.
The traveler took what energy he felt he could spell without passing out, and focused it all towards the base of his throat which began to grow warm.
Pinkie gasped, "My Pinkie sense is tingling!"
Twilight turned to her friend, "What is it? Twitchy tail? A combo?"
Pinkie shook her head, "No, it's something new. I feel like every hair is sticking up," she tapped a hoof to her chin, "Hmm, I wonder what it means."
"Could it have anything to do..." Twilight turned back to the creature in time to see it rear its head back. When it brought it back down, a golden ray of light shot from its mouth and struck the barrier with significant force. The blow was too powerful and too fast for Twilight to adjust, and it overwhelmed the spells defense and it shattered. The shock of the failed spell brought Twilight to her haunches with a yelp and a sore horn.
Pinkie was at her side in an instant, "Twilight, are you okay? What happened?"
Twilight shakily stood, "I...don't know. What kind of magic was that?"
Pinkie shrugged, "Dunno, but look. Wolfie's all tired now."
Ignoring Pinkie's odd name for the creature, Twilight found it panting heavily and standing on shaky legs. Their eyes met briefly before it bolted again, though slower than what she'd seen before, "Wait, please!" she cried trying to follow, but even with the creatures current state, Twilight knew she could never catch up.
The traveler collapsed for the third time. Even unbound his energy reserves were dangerously low. He needed to sleep. He needed food. Both were out of his reach until the ponies gave up the chase. He struggled to his paws and continued towards the wood line. At this pace, the ponies will overtake me, he thought as the trees came closer. He knew he wouldn't last much longer. He had maybe a few more miles in him. After that...
Caught up in his thoughts, the traveler didn't notice the beating of wings in the air until the rainbow pony landed in front of him. No. In a flash of purple light, the unicorn and orange farmer appeared to his left. Pinkie Pie and a new pony in the form of a white unicorn mare with a styled mane flanked his right, while Fluttershy completed the circle behind him. Panting, the traveler closed his eyes, Fine, no more threats, he splayed his ears back and bared his teeth, No more posturing. To get away from these ponies, he began to growl I'll have to hurt them. They all back away slightly, but not enough to let him escape.
The rainbow mirrored his stance, the farmer readied a new rope, and the unicorns' horns were alit with purple and blue auras. Fluttershy however merely took a small step forward. The traveler immediately rounded on her and let out a near deafening bark. Fluttershy just smiled and continued her walk forward, despite protests from the other ponies.
The traveler lowered his head and began lifting his paw, ready to strike at the pegasus, but she said, "It's okay," something in her voice made him stop. "You don't have to run away anymore." Her voice was calm and soothing. The traveler could feel his muscles relax, and his eyelids grew heavy. Fluttershy opened her wings and hovered directly in front of him, "We're not going to hurt you, I promise."
Her eyes... The traveler felt all of his resistances crumble away. Never in recent memory has he ever felt an overwhelming sense of kindness coming from a single being. I think...I can trust her.
The rest of the traveler's energy faded away, and darkness claimed him.
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness...EEP!" Fluttershy tried and failed to hold the wolf up as it passed out.
"Fluttershy!" the others called out. Twilight wasted no time in levitating the wolf off of her friend.
Pinkie Pie helped Fluttershy to her hooves, "You okay?"
"I-I'm fine," Fluttershy looked over her shoulder to where Twilight laid the wolf, "but what about him? Is he alright?"
Twilight watched as the wolf's body rose and fell with his breathing, "Well, it's alive, but I won't know much more until I can examine it further."
Fluttershy trotted up to the wolf's side, "Poor thing," she said, stroking the wolf's back.
"'Poor thing?'" Rainbow snorted indignantly, "This thing trashed the royal guard, destroyed the princess' throne room, and tore up an entire street in Canterlot!"
"None of that was his fault," Fluttershy defended, "The guards attacked him first, right Twilight?"
Twilight's ears perked up, "Huh? Oh yes, but..."
"And nopony was hurt when he was running away from Rainbow Dash, were they?"
Rainbow scratched the back of her neck, "Uh, I guess not."
Applejack snorted, "That don't excuse stealin' from mah farm!"
"Maybe he was just hungry and didn't know they belonged to somepony?" Applejack raised a brow, and Fluttershy looked away, knowing her argument was weak.
Twilight spoke up, "Regardless, we should move this somewhere more private," she turned to the other unicorn, "Rarity, do you have a spare blanket that we could cover the creature with?"
The unicorn tapped her chin, "Hmm, I suppose I have one or two pieces I could part with."
Twilight nodded, "Applejack, could you run back to your farm and bring back a wagon?"
"Ah suppose, but why?"
"We can't let anypony in Ponyville see it," Twilight gestured to the wolf. "If we can get it to the library, I'll be able to study it in a controlled environment."
A loud growl startled the ponies, and they thought that the wolf had awoken, but a glance showed that it was still fast asllep. Fluttershy giggled, "I bet he's still hungry," She took wing and said, "I'll gather some food for when he wakes up."
Twilight nodded, "Sounds like a plan," to the others she added, "Alright everypony, it's still a few hours till sunset. Let's get it back before dark."
The traveler began to stir. His hunger came back to him in force, but he tried to push it away only to have the smell of fish assault his nose. His eyes snapped open. The purple unicorn jumped back in surprise, "Oh, you're awake," she said.
The traveler stood and looked around. He was in a cage, that much was immediately obvious. The unicorn stared at him from behind large iron bars. It was large enough for him to move around in comfortably, and next to where he lie was a large pile of fish. He eyed them warily.
Fluttershy's voice called his attention back to the bars, "I brought those for you," she said coming into his view. "I know you must be really hungry."
The traveler stared at the ponies from behind the bars. The rainbow was sprawled on a couch reading a book, but laid it down to glare at him. The farmer, the white unicorn, and Pinkie Pie were playing some kind of card game with small golden coins in between them. Pinkie was winning. All six of them were just staring at him, waiting for something. The traveler looked to the pile of fish, then back at the ponies.
Fluttershy nodded, "Go on, it's fine."
The traveler thought for a moment, then positioned himself so that he blocked the ponies view of what he was about to do. Though he made sure they couldn't see it, he was sure they would be able to hear his teeth tear into the fishy flesh, so he devoured them whole and as quickly as possible. It was only when he finished and was licking his paws clean did he notice that he wasn't wearing his cuffs. He looked around the cage in a mild panic only to find it empty,
The sound of magic drew his attention to the ponies where his cuffs were hanging in a purple aura. The unicorn smiled, "These seemed important to you, so we picked them up after you passed out."
The cuffs drifted over to him. The traveler gripped them in his tail, but before he reattached them to his forelegs he tapped the iron bars, giving the unicorn a questioning look.
"Sorry about this, but we just can't be too...careful," she trailed off as the wolf's tail wrapped around two of the bars twice. With a grunt he bent the bars and ripped them both out. The pony's ears folded back, "Oh."
The traveler stepped through the opening calmly, while the rainbow and the farmer readied for a fight. The traveler simply sat and reattached his cuffs. He then just waited, watching each of the ponies.
The purple unicorn was the first to break the silence, "Um, you're not gonna run away again, are you?" the traveler shook his head. "And you can understand us, right?" he nodded. The unicorn smiled, "That's great!" a large stack of papers appeared next to her, "I just have a few questions to ask you."
The traveler raised a brow, but Fluttershy said with a smile, "I didn't get to say it before, but thank you for saving the baby blue jay, and not attacking us."
"You are welcome."
The low slightly rumbled voice surprised the ponies in the room. They all stared at the traveler with wide eyes.
The traveler tilted his head in confusion, "What?"
"You can talk?" Twilight asked.
"Apparently so," the wolf answered.
Rainbow Dash flew up to the wolf's face, "Why didn't you say anything before then, huh?"
If the wolf was bothered by Rainbow's invasion of its personal space it didn't show it, "I was unaware that I could until recently."
Applejack stepped forward with a skeptical look on her face, "Beg your pardon, but how can ya not know if'n ya can talk?"
"Normally when I'm a wolf I am unable to talk," it-he if his voice and Fluttershy's testament were anything to go by-took in their confused faces and continued, "I am a shape shifter. I do not look like this all the time."
Rarity took a step back, "Shape shifter? Like a changeling?"
Twilight's hairs rose in memory of her brother's wedding and the tragedies that followed. If this creature was related to them in some way, it could spell trouble.
She was interrupted from her thoughts when the wolf closed his eyes and began reciting as if form a book, "Changeling, a type of fairy that replaces newborn children with their own," the wolf opened his eyes and shook his head, "No, I am nothing like a changeling."
To say that Twilight was confused would be an understatement. Looking around she could see the same confusion on each of her friend's faces, "Um...what?"
"You accused me of being a changeling. I am not a fairy, nor was I a replacement for a newborn child. Thusly I am not a changeling."
That didn't help with her confusion, and she began to feel the onset of a headache. Twilight rubbed her temples, "Okay, let's start over," Twilight then gave a brief summary of what she knew about the changelings, how their queen had replaced her old foalsitter, what her plans were for her brother, and the damage they caused in Canterlot. Her friends chipped in with how they all fell for the deception and how Twilight was the only one to notice something was wrong, and how in the end the real bride and groom managed to drive the changelings out. The wolf listened attentively, only moving to lie down so the ponies weren't straining to look up at him to which Twilight was silently grateful.
When they finished the story the wolf said, "Interesting. An entire race who derive sustenance from something as abstract as emotion, only to be vanquished by the very thing they fed upon. But I digress, no I am nothing like one of your changelings. For one, my shape shifting is limited, and for another were it not I would have used it to pick a much less conspicuous form."
Twilight let out a breath that she was unaware that she held, "That's good," she chuckled weakly. I don't know what I would've done if I'd summoned some kind of super changeling.
The others nodded in agreement before Rarity spoke up, "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but what, or rather who exactly are you?"
Twilight's ears perked up, "Oh that's right, we haven't even introduced ourselves!" she cleared her throat and gestured to herself, "My name's..."
"Twilight Sparkle," the wolf interrupted. He then turned to each of them in turn, "Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy. I have met each of you already in one fashion or another and picked up your names around this town," his gaze fell on Rarity, "save for you." "Oh, well my name is Rarity," she said then she flipped her mane, "Fashion designer, couturier, and owner of Ponyville's best..."
"And only," Rainbow Dash interjected.
"...boutique! A pleasure to make your acquaintance," Rarity finished, ignoring Rainbow. "Now, if I may ask, what shall we call you?"
Pinkie bounced in place, Oh I know! Wolfie!"
Twilight rolled her eyes while Rainbow and Applejack gave Pinkie an incredulous look. Fluttershy giggled softly behind a hoof, but the wolf just shook his head, "No."
"Doggie?"
"No."
"Big Puppy?"
"No."
"Um...Fido?"
"No."
"Lup..."
"I do not have a name," the traveler interrupted the pink mare before she could brand him with an even more ridiculous name.
Fluttershy gasped, "Why not? Everypony deserves to have a name. It's one of the ways that makes everypony special."
Twilight looked inquisitively at the wolf, "Is it because your species doesn't identify themselves with names? Maybe you can tell one another just by your scents, or some other way we ponies don't even know about?"
"A plausible theory, but incorrect when applied to me," the traveler said, noticing a certain gleam in the unicorn's eye, "I do not have a name simply because, prior to my arrival, I had no need of one. When I enter a world normally, I am given a name to better interact with the local populace. Assuming of course that there is sapient life," Though that doesn't always help, he added to himself.
Twilight raised a brow, "This world?"
"It's complicated, but for now I believe that I shall choose a name for myself."
"I think you should call yourself Wolfie!" Pinkie Pie said excitedly.
"Um, actually I think you look more like a Fluffy," Fluttershy suggested.
Before he could get caught up in the whirlwind of unfitting names, the traveler tuned the ponies out. The name given to him upon entering a world was usually suited for that world. He looked at each pony. They were currently laughing at something Rainbow Dash had said, she was looking quite pleased with herself, and were turned away slightly. It was then that he noticed something with all of them.
Fluttershy had a mark of three butterflies, and was just as timid as one. Rainbow Dash's mark of a cloud shooting a rainbow lightning bolt fit with her claim of being the "fastest flier." Even though the statement itself remained to be seen, the traveler had noticed her speed and the rainbow trail she left behind. Applejack's was self explanatory, and while Pinkie Pie's mark didn't match her name, her coat and mane sure did. Assuming diamonds were not a common gem in this world, Rarity's mark of three diamonds would fit, but even if not, her demeanor and accent seemed out of place in this small town from his observations. Finally Twilight Sparkle's name fit her mark as well, if only the last half of it.
Their name's all fit with who they were in one way or another. The traveler looked at his paw and decided that his name should also fit within this theme. Without being able to shift out of this form, a name fit for a wolf would be his theme. A list quickly formed in his head.
There was Lobo, a wolf who continuously outwitted early human settlers. Amorok could work due to his large size and being without a pack. Fenrisulfr, the son of the god of evil, fit with the traveler's size. He even entertained the thought of adopting the name of the Big Bad Wolf. Each of these wolves were malicious in their own way, and the traveler feared that taking one of their names could lead him down a dark path. Names had power after all, so he discarded that list.
Now that it was all laid out, the traveler had to admit that there weren't many wolves known for their benevolence. The one that rose in his mind was the human wolf goddess Lupa, but...
The traveler looked away from the ponies and followed this train of thought. He had once met Lupa when he visited a version of Earth where she existed, and he remembered her telling him the story of how she helped raise a pair of twin human boys who grew up to found one of Earth's greatest empires.
Remus and Romulus.
Yes, one of their names would do, but which one? If the traveler had a coin, this would be a simple matter, but unfortunately he had no such luck. He mused a bit on which name to take before the favored words of a previous personality came to his mind, "When in doubt, Fuse!" That wasn't one of his most intelligent personalities, but in this case the traveler took his words to heart.
"I have decided," he said at last. The ponies seemed startled at first, but quickly composed themselves and gave him their full attention.
Pinkie Pie smiled, "Is it...?"
"No," ignoring Pinkie's pout he continued, "Call me, Remulus."
Silence fell in the library. The ponies seemed to be digesting or looked a bit puzzled at his choice of name, but Pinkie just asked, "Can we call you Remmy?"
The newly dubbed Remulus stared into the hyperactive mare's sparkling (literally) hopeful blue eyes. His ears splayed back and he sighed, "If you like."
Twilight gave him a smile, "Well then, it's nice to meet you, Remulus."
He nodded, "And you as well."
Author's Note
And here's chapter three, in much less than two years I might add. Aren't you proud of me? I know it's a lot shorter than the last chapter, but I had planned on it being longer. Thing is this just seemed like the perfect stopping point. Already quite a ways into it, so expect it before the end of the year. Cross your fingers that I live up to that. I know I am
Questions and comments will always be welcome here. Except for yours, Jeff!
Interview with a Shapeshifter
Once all of the proper introductions were made, Twilight rid the library of the now broken and useless cage. She and the other ponies sat on cushions she had provided in a semicircle around Remulus, who had declined a cushion when asked. It was just as well, Twilight doubted that she had anything that could fit the wolf's size. The moon was just beginning its ascent, so Twilight had Spike bring everypony tea.
When Twilight had first brought Remulus to the library, Spike was a bit wary of him, "Twilight, are you insane?!" he had asked, "What if it goes on a rampage and destroys Ponville?!"
"It'll be fine, Spike," she had insisted, "All evidence points to it being highly intelligent. It didn't hurt any of the guards in Canterlot, and according to Applejack it even saved Apple Bloom. And Fluttershy's here, so there's nothing to worry about."
Spike shrugged, "Okay, but when it trashes the library, I want it on record that I called it."
Twilight suppressed a sigh, "Noted."
So when Spike brought the refreshments balanced on a large tray, there was a tense moment when he caught Remulus' eye. For a moment they just stared at each other, and Twilight was afraid that Spike would be too afraid to approach. After a deep breath, Spike went around and laid cups of tea in front of her and the girls. When there was one last cup left, Spike walked up to Remulus, albeit slowly. Spike held the tray out to Remulus, offering the cup of tea to him. Remulus' tail lifted and coiled around the handle. He lifted the cup to his lips, took a sip, and hummed, "This is really very good. What is your name, young dragon?"
Twilight had yet to inform Spike that Remulus could talk, so she was impressed when Spike seemed to shrug it off and answered, "I'm Spike, and thanks," he added indicating the tea.
Remulus inclined his head, "Greetings Spike, my name is Remulus. Tell me, is a dragon that lives amongst ponies a common occurrence?"
Spike shrugged, "Not that I've heard. As far as I know, I'm the only one."
Remulus hummed again and took another sip of his tea, "I would be interested in hearing your story sometime."
Spike visibly brightened, "Really?" Remulus nodded, "Sure, but as tell me yours too."
"Fair enough," Remulus sat his cup to the side and offered his tail to Spike, "I look forward to it."
Spike seemed unsure of what to do with the offered tail, so he just gripped and shook it with his claw, "Same here," Spike then turned to leave and addressed Twilight, "If you need me for anything, you'll know where I'll be," he flashed a comic book at her.
Twilight rolled her eyes and said with a smile, "Are you sure you don't want to stick around?"
"Nah, besides I doubt I'd understand even half of what you'll all talk about. Later."
The mares all gave Spike their various goodbyes before he vanished upstairs. Twilight beamed at Remulus, "You handled that really well," the wolf said nothing and continued to drink his tea. Twilight too that as a sign to move on, "Alright, there are a few things that I'd like to ask," her horn lit up and a large stack of papers roughly half her height appeared next to her. Only a fraction of what she had originally wanted, but the girls had talked her down some.
Remulus sat his cup aside, "I, too have many questions as I'm sure the rest of you do as well," he added with a glance around the room, "so I propose this. You ask a question that I will answer, and then I will ask a question and we continue in that fashion until we are all satisfied. Agreed?"
Twilight nodded, "That seems fair. Girls?" The ponies all agreed.
Remulus nodded back, "You may have the first question."
Twilight opened her mouth, but Pinkie beat her to it, "Can I pet you?"
To say that Twilight was horrified at that question would be an understatement. Rainbow stifled a laugh behind her hoof, while Applejack facehoofed. Remulus however merely stated, "No,"
"Aww," Pinkie's ears flattened in disappointment, as did Fluttershy's for some reason.
"Now for my first question. When I first arrived, I noticed four different types of pony, however from my observations of this town and what I saw in the mountain city there was only one winged unicorn. My question is this, am I correct in assuming that she rules this land?"
Twilight answered, "Yes and no. The pony you are referring to is Princess Celestia. She and her sister Princess Luna rule this country of Equestria equally."
"A diarchy?"
"Precisely."
"Interesting. Your next question."
Twilight was beaten to the punch yet again, this time by Applejack who glared at Remulus, "Yeah Ah got a question. Just what were ya doing on mah farm, and why'd ya steal from mah family?"
Remulus didn't react to the venom in Applejack's voice, and answered calmly, "I had gone through quite an ordeal prior to and after my arrival here. I was near starving when I found your farm and was following the scent of cow when I came upon your barn. When I learned that the cows of this world were as sapient as you ponies, I quickly came to the conclusion that eating one would be a terrible tragedy. So with no other options before me, I ate the apples.
"I assume that you all realize that I am not an herbivore, but I want you to know that I do not eat sapients. And I know that, despite my desperation, that I still stole from you, Applejack. At the moment all I can offer you is my apologies, and a promise that I will one day make it up to you," he lowered his head near to the ground.
Applejack scratched the back of her head, clearly uncomfortable at Remulus nearly prostrating himself before her, "Aw shoot, Ah was just looking for an apology. Ah hadn't realized what you'd been through," she chuckled and walked up to him and held out her hoof. "Ah accept your apology, and seein' how ya saved mah sister and all, Ah reckon y'all can go ahead and call us square."
Remulus lifted his head and looked at her hoof, unsure of what to do. He settled by tapping the flat of his paw to her hoof. Applejack smiled at him and returned to her cushion when Remulus asked, "Your sister? Apple Bloom?"
"Eeyup, how'd ya guess?"
"The two of you share similar...scents," Twilight raised a brow at his pause, "Now, my second question, your marks. From what I've witnessed the marks on your flanks have some bearing to either your names, your occupations, or both. I also noticed that the younger ponies do not have any marks, so I believe that it's safe to assume that they are acquired later in life. Now while I'm curious if your names have any bearing on the marks you'll receive, my question is this. What exactly are they?"
Twilight was about to answer, but what he had said had thrown her for a bit of a loop. Until that moment she hadn't ever questioned how closely related some pony's name and their cutie marks could be. If she were being perfectly honest, the thought never even came to her, but now that Remulus had pointed it out...
"They're called cutie marks," Rainbow said, cutting off Twilight's train of thought.
Remulus raised a brow, "Please elaborate."
Now in familiar territory, Twilight shoved that future study topic to the back of her mind and began giving a brief lesson on cutie marks. She started with the basics; when a pony discovers their special talent and how their cutie mark would reflect that. Then she moved on to telling her own personal story of how she acquired hers, with her friends telling theirs soon after.
When they finished, Remulus had a troubled look on his face, "So this is a world of destiny," he mumbled to himself, though Twilight overheard. Before she could ask why that seemed so troubling to him, he continued, "The three young ponies in the woods. They do not have their marks, and they called themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I assume that their crusade is to find their 'special talent?'"
Rarity and Applejack gave a longsuffering sigh, "Those three have been tryin' darn near everything to get their cutie marks," Applejack said.
Rarity nodded, "They've become so desperate that they're willing to put themselves in harms way. Not to mention how filthy they all get," she added, scrunching her muzzle in disgust.
"I had noticed," Remulus said with a small shrug. "Your next question."
Rainbow spoke up, "You said you were a shapeshifter. Why didn't you turn into a rock, or a stick, or something when we were chasing you?"
The wolf's ears folded back, and he looked away almost like he was embarrassed, "I...cannot. First of all, I can only shift into living creatures. An ape, a bird," he tapped his chest, "a wolf. Secondly, this world is so saturated with magic that it is overwhelming my own."
Twilight's ears perked up, "You have magic of your own?"
"I have studied several dozen different schools of magic. From incantation to alchemy, from arcane to psionic. All of that is useless to me now though until my body acclimates to the flows of magic in this world. At the moment I doubt that I could cast a simple fire spell," Twilight had stopped listening. Instead her mind was racing at all the potential knowledge she could gain from an intense study session with Remulus. Just the two of them alone in her basement surrounded by books, and papers filled with notes on the different types of magic that he could teach her. And he used "world" again as if he came from another one. Wait, if that's true...but my spell couldn't have... She was so out of it that she didn't notice all eyes in the room were on her, until Rainbow flicked her with a wing, "Huh...what?"
"You're drooling, Egghead," Rainbow said with a snicker.
Twilight felt around her mouth and indeed felt a bit of moisture. Her cheeks grew hot as Rarity levitated a napkin in front of her, wich she took with a look of gratitude. After making herself presentable again, she cleared her throat and said, "Your next question, Remulus."
"Very well. I believe I already know the answer to this, but I would like confirmation. Your princesses, Celestia and Luna. Celestia has a mark of the sun, and it is obvious what Luna's mark might be. Their special talents, do they have anything to do with the sun and moon?"
Rainbow answered, "Uh, duh. The princesses only raise them after all. Everypony knows that."
"I did not. That is why I asked."
Rainbow raised a brow, "How could you not?"
Remulus didn't answer and instead turned his head towards the window where moonlight was just beginning to stream in. He hummed again before turning back to the ponies, "Your next question."
It was finally time to learn what Remulus meant every time he said "worlds." Twilight opened her mouth, "Ooh, ooh!" only to shut it again with a frustrated growl when Pinkie hopped in place, attracting Remulus' attention. "When Twilight had you in that bubble of silenceness, you managed to escape by shooting some golden ray thing out of your mouth like bleh!" Pinkie opened her mouth wide, with her tongue out, "What kind of magic was that?"
Twilight's interest was peaked, and she silently thanked Pinkie for her question. While she was desperate to know for sure whether or not Remulus came from another world, a chance to learn about a new type of magic, and much sooner than she had planned, was a very close second in priorities. The thought almost made her squeal with delight. "That was not magic," only to have her heart drop at Remulus' answer. "What I did was one of the most basic forms of a technique called energy manipulation," Remulus didn't give the ponies a chance to ask before he went into further detail, "Every action a creature makes requires energy, from running or flying at great speeds, to something as simple as blinking.
"Some species in a great number of worlds," Twilight's eye twitched, "have perfected a way to take that energy," Remulus lifted his tail tip up in front of them, "focus it to a single point on their bodies," the tip of his tail began to glow with a faint light, not unlike a unicorn's horn when charged with magic, "and direct it outward," the glow around his tail condensed into a golden sphere of light that hovered just above his tail.
Twilight and her friends gasped in amazement, and Twilight couldn't help but ask, "What would be the main point of such a technique?"
"Combat. Pure physical energy can be quite destructive when used offensively, and be a great defensive shield."
Twilight gulped, almost dreading the answer "How destructive?"
A shadow passed over Remulus' face, all but confirming Twilight's fears, as the ball of energy shrank and vanished, "I believe it is my turn for a question."
"Oh, alright," Twilight noticed a shift in his mood and, looking around, she saw various looks of concern on her friends faces. She decided to drop it for now.
"This will be my last question, as I'm sure any others I have can be answered in one of these books," he gestured to the library around them, "My question is for you, Twilight Sparkle."
"Oh, okay," Twilight smiled, confident that she could answer any of his questions to his satisfaction.
"Were you the one who summoned me to this world?"
Her smile fell and her ears splayed back, and she became acutely of every eye on her. He asked the question as if he already knew the answer. Was he angry with her? Did she pull him away from some important task, or maybe a special some...wolf? Her mind was ablaze with such questions that she didn't realize that she had remained silent until Applejack laid a hoof on her withers, "Twilight, you okay, sugar cube?"
"Huh? Yeah," Twilight looked to Remulus, who had been patiently waiting for her. Sighing, she looked him in the eyes and answered, "Yes, yes I was,"
Remulus blinked, "I see."
"You're not mad, are you?"
He tilted his head, "Why would I be mad? You didn't intend to bring me into this world, and this isn't the first time I've been forcefully summoned into a world, either. I have become quite accustomed to it."
It felt as if a weight had been lifted off Twilight's shoulders. Her smiled returned, as did her inquisitive side, "Would you mind explaining what you mean every time you say 'world?'"
Remulus took a breath, "It's complicated."
"Would you mind un-complicating it then?"
"Are you certain you want to know? Explaining will take some time, and knowing will not change anything for you."
"Even so, the way you keep referring to 'worlds' as separate things leads me to believe that you are not from ours. However the spell I cast was not designed to, nor powerful enough to cross into other worlds. To be honest, until recently, I had even doubted their existence. So I would like to know the truth."
The girls all looked to Twilight with various levels of shock with Rainbow exclaiming, "Wait, what?!" but Twilight kept her focus squarely on Remulus, giving him the best determined look she could muster.
In the end, he relented, "Very well. May I borrow a book?"
"Of course," Twilight levitated a book from one of the many shelves and laid it front of Remulus. At the same time she prepared a long length of parchment and quill before giving Remulus her full attention.
The wolf opened the cover with a claw and laid his other paw on the first page, "Now imagine for a moment that this one page represents your world. Everything you know is contained within the boundaries of this paper. Rarity, what did you have for breakfast this morning?"
The mare was surprised at the sudden question, but quickly composed herself, "Oh, well my younger sister made the two of us pancakes to share with fresh squeezed orange juice. So I had toast with jam, and a bit of milk."
Twilight's stomach lurched a bit at what Rarity had had to endure with her disaster chef of a sister. A sympathy shared by the others, if their various expressions were anything to go by. Applejack even patted her withers in a "there, there" fashion.
If Remulus found Rarity's answer, or their subsequent reactions odd he didn't show it. Instead he flipped the page, and laid his paw on the backside of the first page, "Here in this world, you instead had apple juice. Here," he indicated the adjacent page, "your sister mad you that toast and jam," He flipped a small hooful of pages, "Here, your significant other made you breakfast," another hooful of pages, "Here you skipped breakfast altogether. And finally here," he flipped to the last page in the book, "you don't even exist."
Remulus closed the book, "Every living thing makes choices at almost every moment in their lives. Whether to wake up early, or to sleep in. To talk to a stranger on the street, or to walk on by, or even something as simple taking a left instead of a right. You make one choice, somewhere in another world another version of you made a different choice. And in yet another world, an entirely different choice is made. Infinite choices, infinite possibilities, infinite worlds."
Twilight gasped, "You're talking about multiverse theory."
"So that is a thing here? Yes, however it goes much farther than that," Remulus stood and backed up to a bookshelf. He lifted his hind leg and kicked the shelf with such force to cause all the books to fall around him. Normally Twilight would be quite livid at the wolf's treatment of her precious books, but her inquisitive side was far too fascinated with what he was saying, and was eagerly awaiting to hear more.
Remulus lifted a book with his tail, "Here is a world where magic doesn't exist," he laid that book down a ways from the first, the picked up another, "Here dogs and cats evolved to walk on their hind legs, and became the dominant species of their world," that book was laid down closer to the first, but not by much, "Here creatures live on the body of a massive creature called a titan. Here creature can bend the elements of nature to their will," and he went on listing more and more fanciful worlds and placing books down before them until they were laid out in a grid like pattern. Some were closer together than others, and some were isolated from the rest.
"Hold up a sec, Remmy," Applejack said, rubbing her head with a hoof, "This is all startin' ta go over mah head."
"Indeed," Rarity agreed, "and it's all beginning to sound like one of Sweetie Belle's fantasy novels."
Remulus shook his head, "There is no such thing as fantasy. Your confusion is understandable. As I said before, knowing will change very little, so I can stop now if you wish."
Twilight shook her head frantically, "No no, please go on. This is absolutely fascinating!" she laid aside her second parchment of notes, and levitated a third with her quill at the ready, "Now what did you mean with the statement, 'There's no such thing as fantasy?'"
"The world I was born in is called Earth. It is a near magicless world where science and technology advanced to a point where, when I left, we were scouting other planets in our galaxy for a habitable climate. The dominant species is called human..."
"Human? Is that what you really are? How'd your civilization develop without magic? And how...?" Twilight was silenced when Remulus' tail pressed against her lips.
"One set of questions at a time, Twilight Sparkle."
Twilight felt her face burn, and she gave a sheepish smile when his tail pulled away.
"Yes I was born a human, but I have not considered myself one for quite some time," Twilight opened her mouth to ask another question, but quickly closed it when Remulus raised his tail threateningly. Fluttershy giggled at that. "Now to answer your first question, Rainbow Dash."
Rainbow, who seemed to be dozing off, jumped at the sound of her name, "Uh...yeah?"
"What was the title of the book you were reading?"
Rainbow visibly brightened, obviously excited to finally be able to follow the conversation, or just to be able to gush about her favorite book series. Twilight couldn't tell. Dash grabbed her book from where she left it on Twilight's couch, and rushed back to Remulus and held it out for him to take, "It's called Daring Do and the Temple of Fate!" Remulus laid the book down, and flipped through it aimlessly as Rainbow gave him a synopsis on it and the series as a whole.
Remulus interrupted her with a question, "And the author? Have you ever met them?"
Rainbow scoffed, "Have I ever met her?" she grabbed the book and flipped to the first page. She nearly shoved the book in Remulus' face to show him the author's signature, "I've been to nearly every book signing from here to Trottingham! She knows me by name, and we're practically sisters!"
Twilight had to roll her eyes at that, remembering the fiasco where the author's agent had to file a restraining order against Rainbow. Her ears perked up when Remulus turned to her, "Tell me about her,"
Rainbow protested that she could tell him everything about Yearling, but Twilight new that Remulus would only want the basics and wouldn't be interested in what her favorite flower might be, "Well she's a unicorn pony named A.K. Yearling. She was born in Baltimare," Remulus raised an eyebrow, "and started writing the Daring Do series nearly a decade ago. She has a husband and three foals..."
"Enough, thank you," he pushed the book back to Rainbow, "In this world, the author of Daring Do is just that, an author with a fantastic imagination. But if you remember what I said before about infinite possibilities, then in another world Yearling is a pegasus mare who studies archeology and just so happens to get caught up in events that threatens the world, and then writes about them and sells the story of her adventures as fantasy novels to fund her expeditions. In another world, she is all of that minus being an author," he took a breath, "Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a look, Fluttershy shook her head, and Rarity looked to be in deep thought. Pinkie Pie nodded along as if Remulus' explanation was obvious, but Twilight was staring at the books on the ground. She knew that Remulus had placed them with purpose, but only now did she understand what that was.
Twilight gulped. She was afraid to ask, but she had to know, "What you just explained isn't just true for...our world is it?" she gestured to each of the books, "Each of these worlds, all with their own infinite parallels and the worlds beyond. Somewhere somepony...something in a world completely different from our own..." she couldn't finish, the thought so unbelievable.
Remulus nodded slowly, knowing what she was going to say, "What we call 'imagination' is really subtle links to things or creatures of other worlds. Rainbow, being an avid fan of Yearling's work, there's little doubt that you have imagined scenarios for Daring Do yourself. Maybe even putting yourself in them?"
Rainbow's face reddened horribly, "N-no way! That kinda stuff's for weirdos!" she turned away with a huff.
Remulus hummed, believing her as much as anypony else, "Regardless, whether it is your fan stories, this very moment, or a child of another world being lulled to sleep by the story of six ponies and the wolf, it all exists. There is no such thing as fantasy."
Silence reigned in the library once more as they all tried to digest this new information. Nopony knew how to react. Should they be scared? Fluttershy certainly was as she was eyeing the books on the ground as if something might jump out of them at any moment. Maybe they should be excited, then again it's also possible that he could be lying, though Twilight couldn't find a reason as to why Remulus would lie about this. Twilight couldn't wrap her head around the thought that all of her and her friends struggles over the years could be nothing more than entertainment for some creature in some world she'll never see. On the other hoof, how was reading about Daring Do, or any of the other multitude of fantasy novels in the library any different? Somehow that thought calmed her.
"I see you have realized, Twilight Sparkle," Remulus' voice broke the silence, "While in some worlds we may be nothing more than a story, what does that change for us? Look around and you'll notice that nothing has changed. This is still the library, you are all the same ponies, and this will still be your town tomorrow."
Twilight found her voice, "How is it that you know all this?"
"Experience. I once met someone I was connected to, and he me. It was...I do not recommend it."
"And how many worlds have you been to?"
"Countless."
"How?"
Remulus placed the tip of his tail between two books, "Between the worlds exists a space that is viewed differently by all who see it. For me, it is a swirling vortex that I navigate with a ship designed to handle pure nothingness. It is here where I enter different worlds, and it is where your summoning spell ripped me from."
Rarity cringed, "When you put it like that, darling, it sounds painful."
"Extremely."
Twilight's stomach dropped at his words, "W-what?"
"I said that being summoned to this world was painful. It felt like I was being ripped into two, put back together only to ripped apart again."
No...
"It was the reason why I had shifted into my wolf form. It can handle far better than my human form.'
What have I done? Twilight felt the tears build in her eyes.
"Although I suppose it was my fault. I shouldn't have fought against it so..."
"I'm so sorry!" Twilight's exclamation stopped Remulus, "I-I had n-no idea what I p-put you through!" Twilight's tears were flowing at this point
"Twilight..."
"I-I never meant t-to hurt you. I-I just..."
"Stop..."
"First the f-fury, and n-now this! I shouldn't have casted that spell, I know that, but my own stupid curiosity got the better of me, and so many suffered for it! I'm the worst! I'm..."
Twilight fell silent when a large par gently landed on her head. She looked up through her tears into Remulus' brown eyes, "Enough," he said, his voice calm but firm, "It was impossible for either of us to predict this. So do not blame yourself."
"B-but I..." Remulus pressed the tip of his tail against her lips.
"Listen to my words, Twilight Sparkle," he proceeded to wipe away her tears with his tail, "I do not, nor will I ever hold a grudge against you for this. It is not the first time I have been forced into a world, and I doubt that it will be the last. Though if you still feel like you owe me some sort of debt, I would be very interested in learning about this world, especially its magic. If, of course, you would be willing to teach me."
Twilight sniffed and gave him a small smile, "I'd like that."
Remulus nodded and removed his paw, "As to the fury incident, while I would like to hear details, there are others here who would like to reassure you," when he stepped away, Twilight immediately became the center of a tearful group hug. Her best and closest friends all let her know that they didn't blame her. That nopony in town hated her, and that she was in fact not the worst pony. Twilight's tears returned, and she returned their hugs.
After a few minutes, they pulled away and found Remulus staring out of a window. "It is late," he said when he noticed them, "I believe we should save anymore questions for another time."
The girls all agreed and said they all had an early start tomorrow, except Rainbow Dash to nopony's surprise. Fluttershy approached Remulus, "If you have no place to sleep, you're more than welcome to stay with me."
"Thank you, Fluttershy, but no. I will not be staying in this town."
Pinkie gasped, "But you said you'd be back, and I haven't even thrown you your party yet!"
"And I will return, but I will not be making my residence anywhere in or around this town," he gazed outside again, "For the duration of my stay in this world, I will live in that forest.
Eventually e said, "Very well, I'll stay here, but only if you can tell me that if I were to walk into the middle of town in full daylight, that I will not cause a panic," nopony could look him in the eye. They all knew how skittish the townsponies could be, and they all remembered what had happened with Zecora a few years ago, and she was a fellow equine. "Exactly. Besides, the forest sounds like a perfect place for a dangerous beast such as myself. I will be fine."
Pinkie narrowed her eyes, "Do you Pinkie Promise?"
Remulus blinked and looked at one of his paws, "I do not have pinkies in this form," after another exchange of cultural similarities, Remeulus went through the motions of the infamous Pinkie Promise, and promised to return the next evening, "What an odd ritual," Twilight giggled in agreement. "Well then, it was nice meeting you all. If you need me for anything before tomorrow evening, then come to the edge of the forest and call for me. I have committed all of your scents to memory, so finding you will be no trouble."
Pinkie jumped up, "Wait, you can't leave yet! New friends have to part with a smile!" she said, giving him a toothy grin.
Remulus tilted his head before something behind them caused his eyes to go wide with shock. Seeing his surprise, they all turned around, only to see nothing more than the rest of the library. When they turned back, Remulus was nowhere to be seen, ad a window was left open.
Pinkie giggled, "Got me again."
"Spike?" Twilight opened the door to her room, "Spike, are you awake?" she was answered with a loud snore. Sighing to herself, she gently closed the door and made her way to her study. Sitting at her desk, she levitated a parchment, a quill, and some ink and laid them on the desk. She spent a few moments gathering her thoughts before she dipped the quill into the ink and began to write, "Dear Princess Celestia..."
Author's Note
And look at that, I still have one month and four days left before the end of the year. Go me!
Remulus stood at the edge of the dark forest and looked over his shoulder in the direction of the library. I cannot believe that worked a second time, he thought to himself. From his observations of the mountain city and this small village, he concluded that those six ponies were strange to say the least. There weren't many in any world who would take the time to try to understand an unknown like himself. Not only did they give him the benefit of the doubt, but even went so far as to call him a friend.
"New friends have to part with a smile!"
Thinking back to Pinkie Pie's words, Remulus sighed. The way he was now, there was no way that he could consider any of the as friends. The most he felt towards them was curiosity at best, however he did intend to keep his promise. A "Pinkie" promise, huh? Remulus lifted and looked down at his right forepaw.
The little girl lifted her pale right hand with her smallest finger extended, "Pinky promise?"
He sighed, "Aw c'mon, Sil. I already did the 'cross the heart' thing..." The boy leaned back against the moth-eaten couch, and did his best to ignore the looks from the adults moving through the dilapidated room. "Can't you just trust me this once?"
The little girl whined, "Noooo! It has to be official!"
The boy turned his head away with a click of his tongue. He stayed that way until he heard the girl sniffing. Against his better judgment, he glanced over at her. The girl's blue eyes were filling with tears, even as she glared at him, and her shoulders were shaking as she tried to hold in her sobs. Thing is, the boy knew it was all an act, but everyone in the room, including the two children, knew that the boy was powerless against her. He sighed in defeat and interlocked his little finger with hers.
The little girl named Silvia smiled brightly and shook their hands up and down, her tears vanishing immediately. Afterword she embraced the older boy with a giggle, "Now try to remember, 'cause I know you can be dumb!"
"Hey!" The adults around the two children laughed at the display. The boy glared at them indignantly, but returned the young girl's hug.
Remulus shook himself out of the unwanted memory. He lowered his paw, a bit unsettled. Never before had memories of his first life surfaced so soon after entering a world. Remulus took one more look at the pony village and wondered just what kind of world he was in. With one more sigh, he stowed his concerns in the back of his mind and turned back to the forest in front of him. He took one step past the tree line and froze. Outside the forest he could feel the magic around him. It flowed through the ground beneath his paws and through the air in a predictable pattern. Almost as if something was holding it to a certain order. But as soon as he crossed the border into the forest, that feeling of order was replaced by chaos.
The magic of the Everfree ran wild from the roots of the trees to the skies above. If the ponies lived and thrived in a world of controllable, predictable magic, then Remulus could not blame them for their fear. However, if Remulus was being honest with himself, he preferred the untamed feeling of the Everfree. It felt more natural to him.
Several minutes of trekking through the Everfree had convinced Remulus that he had made the right choice when he decided to make his home here. At first he tracked the scent of spices and burning wood to a small residence built into a tree. Twilight Sparkle had said that a zebra by the name of Zecora was the only other being she knew that chose to live in the Everfree. After committing the scent of the zebra's hut to his memory he moved on, deciding to avoid Zecora for the time being.
The few creatures he encountered intrigued him. After a minute or so after leaving Zecora's hut behind, a curious pink puffball with four insect-like wings flew in front of him. It's eyes made up a good portion of its body, and it buzzed around his head before landing on the tip of his muzzle. Remulus blinked, and the creature blinked back and seemed to smile. With a small shrug Remulus snapped up the little creature before it could fly off. The thing was quite soft for what he assumed was an insect, and he concluded that it would take several dozen of the puffballs to make a dent in his hunger, so he decided that they wouldn't be his source of food in the forest. It was just as well as the thing was quite bland.
Passing an old, rotting log, Remulus spied a medium sized, white and fuzzy spider. The arachnid looked up at Remulus for a moment, and then waved one of its legs back and forth as if in greeting. Remulus blinked once before nodding his head in acknowledgement and moved on.
The next creature he encountered wasn't nearly as friendly. It had the head of a chicken, but the body of a lizard. Remulus thought it looked quite comical really, right up until it glared at him with shining red eyes. Remulus began to feel parts of his body go stiff and a quick look told him that his hind legs had been turned to stone. Turning back to the still glaring creature, Remulus thought, So this world has cockatrices as well. Cute. With a small flex of his legs, Remulus shattered the stone that began to encase his torso, sending the tiny hybrid creature into a fluster. To his disappointment, the cockatrices of this world in fact did not taste like chicken.
At one point he caught the scent of deer, but the trail seemed to vanish almost as soon as he began tracking it. Curious. After an hour without seeing anymore of the forest's inhabitants, Remulus decided to find shelter and continue hunting in the morning. Raising his head, Remulus sniffed the air. The smell of spices that marked Zecora's hut was faint, about an hour and a half's walk away from where he was. The scent of Ponyville was just a small tendril, so he decided that he was far enough away from the town. In his search for a suitable shelter, his hackles began to rise. Something was watching him. He could smell nothing but forest in his immediate area, but he could feel their gaze.
Remulus continued forward until he came to a small clearing. There he sat on his haunches and waited. Soon enough the brush around the clearing parted, and several wooden forms surrounded him. The creatures resembled wolves made of wood, but like most things in this world, Remulus dwarfed them. They all shared glowing yellow eyes and a tuft of moss on their chests. Each were growling and bearing their fangs at Remulus, save for one who stood taller than the rest. It was this one that Remulus gave his attention.
The wooden wolves around him hadn't yet attacked, so he decided to take a chance. Keeping his attention on the tallest wolf he bared his neck and said, "I bring you greetings, brothers-and-sisters-of-wood. Do you run this day, or does the call of the hunt move your claws?" Though Remulus didn't really "speak" as much as gave vague expressions to convey his thoughts. Throughout his travels, Remulus had only encountered one world where the wolves couldn't understand his "wolf speak." With luck, this wouldn't be the second.
The wolves around him stopped growling and glanced at each other before turning to what Remulus assumed was the alpha. The larger wolf blinked once before baring its own neck, "Greetings to you as well, brother-of-flesh. 'Tis the hunt that moves us this day."
"Then I wish you all luck in finding worthy prey."
With the formalities out of the way, the alpha sat on its haunches and made a sound that Remulus could only interpret as a laugh, "It has been some time since I have heard such a greeting. You do not smell of the woods. Where do you run?
"I have run through forests of both wood and metal. I have run across dry sand and frozen earth. However it was not by my own claws that I have found these woods."
One of the smaller wood wolves stepped forward and growled threateningly, "He smells of the hooved ones. He is tame, which makes him prey!"
Not even sparing the smaller wolf a glance, Remulus said, "I smell of the hooved ones for it was a horned one who called me here."
Also ignoring the small wolf, the alpha raised one of the twigs that served as its brow, "For what purpose?"
"Curiosity." With a low growl at being ignored, the small wolf stepped back in line with the others.
The alpha grit its teeth, "Aside from our Great Lady of the Night, the horned ones are as cubs with the Great Power.
"The hooved ones are unworthy prey."
The alpha made its laughing sound again. It looked around at its pack before giving Remulus what he could only assume was a smirk, "My children believe that you have been tamed by the hooved ones, brother-of-flesh. Care to prove them wrong?
In answer, Remulus stood.
The alpha followed suit, "Then run with us. We will find you worthy prey.
Though he wasn't a real wolf, Remulus still felt a primal thrill in running with a pack. Being unused to how the trees of the Everfree seemed to twist and bend randomly, he observed the wooden wolves from the rear of the pack. He was fascinated with how the wolves seemed almost vanish into the background of the forest, and with the way they would disappear completely in the underbrush. In most other worlds their abilities would have made them better suited as ambush predators rather than pack hunters. Remulus felt that he had a lot to learn about this world.
The wolves led Remulus to a large plateau. Halfway up the cliff face was an outcropping of rock large enough for the pack of wooden wolves to stand comfortably, and a large hole was cut into its side. The tree line stopped several feet away from the plateau, allowing for an unobstructed view of the night sky. Remulus stared unblinkingly at the large, pale moon that shined down upon them, and he had to suppress another primal urge.
The alpha stepped up to Remulus' side and gestured at the cave mouth, "It is there that you will find your prey, brother-of-flesh. A beast of fur, and leather, and venom dwells within. Remulus looked into the alpha's yellow eyes, "It controls the territory from here to the den of the hooved ones. Emerge victorious, and the territory is yours. Fail and..." The alpha trailed off as it and the pack merged back into the trees, laughing all the way.
Remulus snorted, Trial by fire then, he thought to himself while facing the plateau. After stretching out his limbs, he ran at the cliff and began his climb. Fortunately he needn't have bothered as the cliff face provided enough purchase to just jump from outcropping to outcropping until he landed in front of the cave. From this height Remulus could see over the trees that bordered the plateau and decided that this would make a good home for his stay in this world. He could even catch the scent of Ponyville in the air. There was just the small matter of its current occupant.
Speaking of which...
Remulus' hackles rose and he turned to the mouth of the cave. From the dark opening came the sound of a low grow, the scraping of claws against stone, as well as the sound of flaring wings. The beast stepped into the moonlight, and Remulus could only stare at the creature. Until now the only creature who stood equal to him in stature was the pony princess, but the beast that stood before him was easily three heads higher.
The words of the alpha echoed in Remulus' mind, "A beast of fur... the creature's black coat was crisscrossed with old scars, but it's grey mane stood proud. "...and leather..." Its bat-like wings flared as it growled threateningly, "...and venom." The beast's tail, reminiscent of a scorpion's, was pointing directly at Remulus, the tip beginning to drip with venom. The manticore let loose with a deafening roar, one that Remulus had to brace himself against.
The manticore spread its wings, and Remulus bent low to the ground with his ears flat against his head. The beast launched itself at Remulus at a speed he was unprepared for, so he could only jump to evade. Unfortunately this brought him within range of the beast's tail which was aimed directly at his heart. Remulus twisted in the air and managed to miss the stinger, but the bulk of the tail crashed into him, sending Remulus off the ledge the forest floor. He landed bodily, but was quickly back on his paws. Remulus jumped several feet away just as the manticore landed heavily where he was mere moments ago. Before Remulus could launch an attack of his own, the manticore was in the air once again. Remulus watched as it circled above and gave a thought to unbinding himself, but decided against it.
This was exactly what he needed. During his time running from the ponies, he could feel it building inside him. He was brought into this world blank, emotionless, but certain feelings began emerging. Feelings that he suppressed to prevent himself from becoming a monster. Feelings of anger at being summoned against his will, frustration towards Rainbow Dash for relentlessly pursuing him. The feelings of fear and desperation he felt at his weakest point. All of that he kept inside while he was around the ponies, but at this moment he was no longer around the ponies. He was in a fight to the death.
Remulus finally surrendered to the urges that have been building within and roared his defiance at the flying manticore.
Remulus charged at the cliff and began to climb. The manticore took this opportunity and sped towards Remulus with its claws poised to strike. Remulus was counting on this though, and launched himself from the cliff to meet the manticore in mid-air. They collided in a tangle of fur and claws and they both sunk their teeth into each other's flesh. The pain was but a distant feeling in Remulus' mind as he was focused on taking the manticore down. The two hit the forest floor with a loud crash, the force of the landing separating the two. They were both back on their paws in moments.
Before the manticore to take flight again, Remulus pounced on the beast's back and tore into the membrane of its right wing with a claw. The manticore roared and stabbed at Remulus with its tail, only for it to hit air as he leapt off its back. Not missing its chance, the manticore took a swipe at Remulus, leaving three bloody grooves in his side.
With an involuntary yelp, Remulus rolled away as he hit the ground, leapt to his paws and faced his opponent. With that hole in its wing the manticore was grounded, but Remulus had only removed one weapon in the beast's arsenal. Its tail was the most dangerous thing about the beast, so Remulus had his next target.
Unfortunately for Remulus, it seemed that the scars across the manticore's body were a testament to how many battles it survived, for it kept with a combination of claws, teeth, and tail. Though it couldn't use them to fly, the manticore was still able to use its wings to gain distance with a couple of flaps, or launch itself at Remulus when it pressed its attack. Remulus was forced on the defensive as the manticore's attacks were relentless, only able to take small swipes with his claws which were small gestures at best.
That was until Remulus remembered he had a certain advantage. Keeping on the defensive, he waited for the right moment. He didn't have to wait long, as the manticore struck out with its tail Remulus struck out with his own. Remulus' tail wrapped around the manticore's and guided it to his side where he trapped it between his jaws. Jerking his head back, Remulus tore the manticore's tail in half. The manticore roared and thrashed around in pain, the stub of its tail spraying red blood on the trees and grass.
Remulus tossed aside the remains of the manticore's head with a flick of his head and pounced on the beast, forcing it on its back. He then took the manticore's throat in his jaws and squeezed. In desperation, the manticore placed its paws on Remulus' chest and shoved him off. Unfortunately for the beast, Remulus had a firm hold on its throat, so when Remulus was lifted was lifted from its body he took its throat with him. The beast gurgled and thrashed as blood began to fill its lungs. Remulus stood by panting , knowing the fight was over. The manticore grew still, and it locked eyes with Remulus. In its last moments, Remulus felt as if a sense of understanding passed between them. With one last breath, the manticore closed its own eyes before its entire body grew limp. Remulus sagged a bit as he came back to himself, and the exertion of the battle took its toll. Though the manticore wasn't his first kill in this world, he still felt gratitude towards it. Worthy prey indeed.
Walking up to the body of his fallen opponent, Remulus placed a paw gently upon it and gave a silent thanks. The wooden wolves emerged from the trees, the alpha leading them with its strange smile, "Well done, brother-of-flesh. We have lost quite a number of glory seeking cubs to this beast. So on their behalf, I thank you."
Remulus nodded in acceptance before looking at each of the wolves. Most seemed to be eyeing the corpse almost longingly, but none dared to make a move. Feeling indebted to them, Remulus said, "Join me, brothers-and-sisters-of-wood. The beast is too much for one."
Remulus' offer took the wolves by surprise, and the smaller wolves whispered amongst themselves and the alpha asked, "You would share your kill with those not among your pack."
Remulus nodded, "Consider it a victory feast over a bargain struck." Remulus continued before the alpha could ask, "The beast's territory now belongs to me, but I wouldn't mind you and your pack hunting within it. However, while inside my territory, the hooved ones are off limits."
"Want them for yourself?"
Remulus shook his head, "I owe them a debt."
"Fair enough. We agree to your generous terms, brother-of-flesh.
"Then let us eat."
After eating his fill, Remulus climbed to the cave that would be his new home. He sat at the edge of the ledge and glanced below to where the wooden wolves were finishing the last of the manticore. He then turned his attention to the sky where the moon was full and bright. He once again felt an urge welling up inside him.
Ah, what the hell? he shrugged dismissively, and began howling. Unlike how most wolves howl in a single, continuous note, Remulus howled almost as if he was singing. The wooden wolves below joined him in his melody, and in the distance he could hear the howls of several different packs who made up the harmony. For the first time since Ponyville's founding, the Everfree Forest came alive with wolf song.
