Another Casting of the Cards

I looked around as I walked through the town. It was totally deserted. All the doors were closed, and lights were off. I chuckled to myself- it was a beautiful night, and only I was here to see it. Too many sleep through what could be a very interesting part of the day.

I halted that train of thought before it could get off the ground, and instead remembered.

I sleepily looked around again, wondering why I was where I was. It was almost like… I wasn't in control.

Almost.

I knew I was in control, it's not like some heavenly being rules our actions, but still, I somehow felt… wrong. I'm not sure, but whatever. It was still a beautiful night.

Many ponies would find this sort of night too cold, but I simply shrugged it off and continued gazing into the stars, looking for those that I had grown up with. I found none.

After a few minutes of mindless movement, I noticed that I had drawn a star in the dirt. It was an odd thing, though. There was a circle around it, and some weird characters around the edges- enough of them to make it look rather complicated. I chuckled to myself, not really sure what to make of it. It looked almost like an alchemical symbol, something I sincerely hoped wasn't the case, though I suspected it might well be an alchemical symbol.

I mean, if they had magic, then shouldn't they have alchemy? In most forms of it, alchemy is a form of magic. As I thought about it, I heard a nagging voice in my head, seemingly suggesting that it, indeed, could be used for alchemy. I shuddered, but decided to commit it to memory nevertheless. As I did so, the voice in my head seemed to suggest that it was… merely a general focusing symbol, for achieving the effect the user concentrates on.

Then I erased the pentagram completely, scuffing over the dirt with a hoof so that nopony else could find it, or use it, moreover.

Then I headed back to the library, grateful to head back to the known, and personally? I didn't care much for alchemy, though I knew it would come in handy at some point.

o.O.o

It was about an half an hour after dawn before I made myself known, shuffling around and making breakfast. I found eggs in the fridge, and decided to make some hard boiled eggs. Who knew you could burn water? Deciding to just not care, I waited for the eggs to boil.

I knew myself well enough to say that if I tried anything more complicated, say, like pancakes or anything, I might wind up cutting up a hoof and adding it to the meal. Somehow.

I continued my work until a sleepy Spike stumped down the stairs, still looking rather bleary-eyes. The little drake immediately looked quite a bit more awake all of a sudden. Wonder why.

"Hey, Sam, how's it going?" Asked Spike, clearly wondering. I smiled happily at him.

"It's just going fine, like dandelion wine, quite fine, but no rind." I poetically expressed. The little dragon raised an eyebrow before seeing my smile and chuckling.

"You sound like Zecora, but your rhyming is a little sloppier, no offense," he explained. I was confused. Zecora rhymes? Well I guess Shakespearean sonnets aren't too old-fashioned for some ponies.

o.O.o

A gentle hoofbeat sounded on the stairs, and I snapped my head up, unlike my cooking companion, who hummed to himself and put the finishing touches on breakfast.

"Hello, Twilight, sleep well?" I rushed out. I was a little surprised to find her at the top of the stairs. She started, and looked a little surprised I had detected her.

Her sudden movement at the top of the stairs mightn't have been the best choice, however, and she tumbled off the landing.  Spike turned too, and he saw Twilight fall, and didn't even bat an eye when she teleported herself neatly onto the couch. I blinked, utterly nonplussed at this sudden display of magic.

"Oh, hello Sam, wonderful morning, isn't it?" Twilight spoke, the incident I just saw obviously being rather common here.

"Well, Spike and I were cooking breakfast, and it was a nice thing indeed, until you decided to fall off the stairs. Usually dangerous, but apparently not. Jolly good show, old friend," I laughed, and they both blinked, apparently a little confused by my display of what Thomas knew as a British affectation.

"Never mind, it was just a cultural display from, um, somewhere else. Don't mind me," I added, off their suddenly blank looks. They shook their heads, seemingly coming back to life, and Spike grinned.

"That's pretty wicked, dude, how you can change voices like that," he complimented, sounding rather impressed. I shrugged awkwardly, not really knowing what to say, nor caring for the compliment. If they knew about Great Britain and its history, they wouldn't be so happy.

"That's actually really cool, Sam. Can you do any other voices?" Twilight requested, sounding rather curious. I gave up, and decided to simply accept magic as being totally normal. I grinned in response, and started talking.

The accents were something I had picked up as an NOC- non- official cover. I went in, and didn't have any embassy help. It was a unique job wherein you had to get of know people and blend in. The accents definitely helped then, as many of the places I was stationed were the sort that used spies as slave labor. And they rarely gave you a judge and jury- it was more done on the basis of "if we suspect you, you must be guilty."

o.O.o

"So, Sam, if you don't mind, I'd like to take you and Spike with me to the crater where you were found to get some readings." Twilight requested, myself and Spike having finally finished cleaning up after breakfast. The little dragon was sitting on my back, in the space in front of my shoulder blades, but behind my neck. It wasn't that uncomfortable, and he really didn't weigh much, so I could care less.

"Sure. I wouldn't mind, and I wouldn't mind seeing how I got here in the first place," I acquiesced, not that I was going to not help her.

The pair still seemed a little surprised after my Terran accent display, but they, all in all, appeared to be pleased. I had enjoyed the ability to demonstrate my showmanship, and Twilight enjoyed the culture jamming.

So that was the start of our journey into the Everfree forest. It wasn't too unpleasant- walking through town was nice, and I vaguely remembered Thomas enjoying the somewhat odd hobby of people-watching. Though I was sure a great deal of it stemmed from his deep-seated paranoia, it certainly was an interesting thing.

As the three of us slowly trotted down the street, I marveled at the sheer number and colors of the ponies here.

I snapped out of my day dream when we reached the edge of the Everfree, and Spike seemed to shrink down just a bit farther. He was still on my back, not that I minded, of course. He really was quite light, not that I would refuse him- I was sure a little weight training would do me good.

It was only when we actually got to the Everfree, however, that it started to get unnerving.

Although we had all been here before, it was still a creepy place. Admittedly, I had been in a medium-sized crater, and been found almost immediately, so I hadn't had to enjoy the loveliness of the wonderfully enchanting Everfree.

Fortunately for me, we found the hole in the ground fairly soon, and Twilight and Spike got to work. They pulled out a device that looked somewhat like a camera, but rather uniquely more odder. It had numerous knobs and buttons, and for some strange reason, a door on one side. As Twilight explained, as she pulled it out of the saddlebags I hadn't noticed her wearing, there was a tiny little demon in here who took readings and wrote them down and put the papers out another slot.

"… and the readings come out here!" Twilight finished, gesturing with a hoof to another part of the device.

I simply nodded, choosing to stretch out in the meadow and take a nap while the other two worked. After about ten minutes, I felt Spike lay down beside me, and we both fell asleep.

o.O.o

The reprieve didn't last long, though, as I was woken up to an odd sound-- jumping to my hooves, I realized that Twight had poked me in the temple. She reeled back, surprised by my reaction, but I quickly shook Spike awake.

After the five seconds all this took, I finally looked around to where Twilight was pointing with a forehoof.

"Sam, that is one of the worst things the Everfree has to offer. It's a monstrous thing, called Plagas, or alsus," Twilight muttered to me and Spike, sounding rather nervous, gesturing with a hoof to he hung that had shambled out of the Everfree's trees.

It was surprisingly humanoid, but rather obviously not a human. It reminded me strongly of what Thomas knew as a zombie, though no moan escaped from its lips, and, oddly enough, I felt a strange tingling sensation on my darkly furred skin, as well as on my off-white and green mane and tail. Furthermore, I felt the unique sensation of wha felt like worms under my skin.

I glanced at Twilight, who now had Spike on her withers, throwing her a questioning look as the alsus tripped over the far edge of the crater and tumbled down it.

"It… oh no…" Twilight murmured, getting me worried, as the things mouth opened and shut. It was now maybe fifty yards away from us, and another one emerged from the bush, at the same spot as the first alsus. It looked exactly the same- monkeyish, certainly humanoid, bipedal, grey skin. Spike whimpered and looked almost as ashen as he creatures that approached.

"They… they kill ponies, and… they eat them," he whispered, his normally sturdy voice sounding rather feeble.

"I'm assuming that odd sensation I'm feeling is some sort of magical blocking?" I asked, feeling apprehensive.

"Yes, but we've never had a chance to capture one. They're the substance of legends," Twilight breathed, sounding ecstatic that she could study one.

"Twilight, can you do me a favor, please?" I turned, and she nodded. The alsus had closed to twenty yards, and the other was at about seventy-five yards, having closed the twenty-five from he edge of the meadow. The first one was climbing the edge of the crater, and was increasing in speed.

"Okay, I want you and Spike to take your magical readings box and go. Go back to Ponyville. I can fight these, Twilight- I don't need my magic, and if I don't deal with these, they might do some worse damage. I really don't want any of you to get hurt, and I don't want these to hue anyone else, and I--" I was suddenly cut off when the first one shot forward and attacked.

I whacked it's legs out with a forehoof, and Twilight gave a little shriek and turned.

"I'll see you soon!" I hollered after her, as I began to kick in the alsus's head. It took awhile, and by the end of it, my back hooves were covered in gore and blood, up to my knees.

Just as I was catching my breath after it had run into the corner, the second alsus came up, howling.