Far From Homeby Fiend from the DarknessChapters1. A New PlaceExplanations, Evasions, and a Pink One that Scares Moonlight More than Dragons or DrakonsChapter 3Chapter 4Prologue1. A New Place We stared at the tiny village. It had a rustic feel to it and looked friendly enough, but we dared not enter until we knew what lived there, especially not in the dead of night on a new moon. Doing that in the Lycana was a bad idea, and I would bet my first born pup that it was here to. Especially when the species of the inhabitants was yet unknown. I looked over at my best friend and travelling companion, Moonlight Runner. Her coat was a shimmering grey, like the colour of the full moon above a thin layer of clouds, her tail thumped nervously against the ground, stormy eyes glaring into the sky. "Three weeks,” I groaned, “how the hell were we three weeks from any civilization on this planet!" "We need food," she muttered. My jaw hit the ground,"You ate an entire freaking manticore yesterday, for Lupus’ sake!" She just turned, sniffing snobbishly. "A coyote's gotta eat." I just shook my head and started loping after her. The next morning we were looking into the village from the edge of the forest. The town was now alive with activity, and all Moonlight could do was gape. "Ponies," she muttered before exclaiming at an unfortunate volume, "IN THE NAME OF LUNA'S BRIGHT PINK COTTON BLOOMERS THEY'RE PONIES!' A bright pink pony with a mane that cannot be described as anything other than cotton candy made hair looked over, we instantly ducked hoping to Lupus, Luna, and any other listening deity that we weren't seen. Thankfully a rainbow maned pony with wings, seemed to distract the pink one, though we didn't catch the words. 'Wait a second wings?!' I thought doing a double take, but missing both ponies, as they seemed to have simply disappeared. "They're supposed to be a myth," I muttered awestruck, then noticed Moonlight was no longer next to me, but behind me ready to go back to our clearing. We ducked back into the forest, going to our clearing, a small one off any paths, with a midsize pond about five minutes walk in. "We need disguises," Moonlight muttered. I rolled my eyes. " I got you covered." I began the delicate process of a Higher Harmonized Chaos enchantment. First drawing the spell circle in runes, taking great care not to mess up. After the first circle was complete, the change, I added another ring of runes around the outside, the hold, so the illusion would last outside the circle. The hold binding the illusion to us,not the circle, as without the hold, the transformation would die at about a kilometre outside the circle. Moonlight stayed silent, knowing how volatile chaos magic, especially harmonized, or effect holding chaos magic, could be. I drew the symbols in the circle with great care, wanting the transformation to keep our gender the same, as the first time I did this, my master refused to change me back until I learned how to do it myself. I ended up walking around for a weak as a she. Worst week of my life. As a bitch. In heat. In the middle of an alpha wolf meet. I WAS ONLY THERE TO STUDY UNDER MY MASTER AND I HAD TO BEAT SUITORS OFF WITH A LUPUS DAMNED STICK! I mean, I know mages are rare, but that was bad. I finished the last rune and turned to Moonlight. "You're going first," she deadpanned. I sighed and stepped into the circle, saying, "To waters change I commend my physical being Another native, may others be seeing And with this morph their abilities too while I remain me, magic and true" I again took care with the chant, as messing up a spell that requires one is a recipe for disaster. Very possibly lethal disaster if the spell affects a living being. I felt the rush of magic and stepped out of the circle, walking over to the pond to look in. In place of my wolfish face, a pony head stared back. My fur was still jet black, but atop my head sat a midnight blue mane, I turned around and saw my tail was now also midnight blue and... "What in the name of Lupus' purple pantaloons is on my butt," I said looking at Moonlight. She giggled. "You're the correct gender then?" "Yes," I deadpanned at her. She stepped into the circle, and I repeated the rhyme and the circle went white. The light made me nervous. I was suddenly glad we were in the forest and doing this during the day. The light was BRIGHT. I had forgotten how bright these spell circles could be, a first year apprentice mistake that would have had my master tear me a new one. After the light died, it wasn't Moonlight Runner the coyote standing there, it was Moonlight Runner the winged pony. WAIT A MINUTE. I checked my back then looked back at Moonlight, "One, we need to learn to fly. Two, we need to figure out what we're called. And three, WHAT IN THE NAME OF LUNA AND LUPUS' ILLEGITIMATE LOVE CHILD IS THE CHAOS SYMBOL FOR CHAOS DOING ON MY ASS?" (Pulled off google images. If this is someones work, let me know so I can credit them.) "I kinda like having a Lunar eclipse on my rump," Moonlight stated primly. I deadpanned at her and said, "Maturity, Mooner." Then, before she could respond or bite my head off, figuratively or literally, over the hated nickname, "We ran for three weeks to get here, we should probably check out what here is." Moonlight turned and walked away. "Coming?" she called over her shoulder. I simply gaped at her dark, storm cloud grey tail, which was swayingway more than necessary. Quickly snapping out of it I hurried to catch up, and we walked towards the little town. We walked into town quietly and tried to remain inconspicuous. Moonlight had fallen slightly behind me as we made our way a massive tree at the edge of town, sign above the door stating it was the library. I glanced towards Moonlight, grinning as I knew she hated the archives back home, "Best place for info Moony." "Call me that again and I'll start calling you Stormy." "Okay, okay." I said, scared she'd actually follow through on the threat. I nudged open the door and stepped inside, Moonlight following close behind. Just inside was a tiny dragon. Moonlight instantly tensed and pressed close to me ready to bolt. He looked like he was about to say something, but was confused by Moonlights reaction. It was in that moment of tangible tension that the door burst open and we were bowled over by what I could only describe as a cyan train. Moonlight, the little dragon, and I were all thrown into the wall and I was buried beneath Moonlight and the entire reference section of the library. "I won!" Yelled a tomcoltish voice, muffled by the Ea-Ec encyclopedia on my face. "Ya used yer wings!" shouted a southern accent. "Spike, whats an entire section of the library doing on the floor, and why does the pile look bigger than it should?" I swear I would see one of the archive tenders if this encylcopedia, and the others in my line of sight, weren't in the way. I mean, that sounded really bookish. "Its obviously because Rainbow ran into new ponies and knocked them into the wall, knocking down all the book on them and...," There was 10 seconds of silence before an absolutely impossibly long gasp then, "NEW PONIES!" followed by a swoosh and an indignant "humph" that I could swear belonged in an alpha's court. The door then shut and there was silence, before the bookish voice spoke. "Spike are there really ponies under that pile?" "Yes," said a really young sounding voice. There was a collective intake of breath and my field of vision lit up in a magenta aura as the entire pile was lifted, revealing Moonlight and I, as well as showing that her snout was trapped between two volumes until they were lifted, explaining the curious lack of snark under the pile. As it was lifted, I saw five mares and a dragon looking at me and Moonlight. The dragon looked curious, a purple pony with a horn atop her head (I really needed to get species names) was studying us intensely, another horned pony, this one a lovely white with a purple mane, was looking shocked at us being under there, a pony without wings or a horn was glaring at the cyan freight train, that turned out to be an extremely guilty looking winged pony, and finally a butter yellow winged pony who looked like she wanted to approach, but seemed to be hiding behind the plain pony the same way Moonlight was hidden behind me from the dragon. Finally the dragon, Spike I would assume, broke the silence, "Are you two-" that's as far as he got before he took a step and Moonlight bolted, almost runnning over the pony with the hat, and getting the hat caught on a slightly extended wing, before the bbrush with the hat causes her wings to tense closed and catch the brim, holding the hat against her. "MOONLIGHT!" I yelled as I ran full speed after her. "Hey, git back here with that!" I heard the southern voice yell, not looking back to put a face it. I continued to run, trying to catch Moonlight, but damn was she fast, and I couldn't cast on the fly. As we approached the forest I began to wonder why the rainbow winged one hadn't caught up yet, I mean, isn't flying faster than running? I didn't have the time to look behind me though, as it took all my concentration just to keep up with Moonlight. It was about five minutes of sprinting after her that I figured out where the cyan pony went to when she literally dropped out of nowhere in front of Moonlight, I saw the collision about half a second before my headlong sprint was arrested by a rope that seemed to just appear around my barrel. Apparently Moonlight's abrupt exit didn't go over too well. "A stop I put to the sand The Hurricane and Moonlight on a separate land With the power to stay time's hand." Time stopped around us as I removed myself and Moonlight from its flow, the spell a rather simple panic spell that allowed conversation, but disallowed any spatial movement. So I was stopped suspended from a rope with all four legs pointing forward, while moonlight was upside down in the middle of a tumble with the cyan freight train. Spell complete I looked at Moonlight. "Still haven't kicked your draconiphobia?" The next voice startled us both. "Amazing, you’re a pegasus who can do magic?... or a…." With the voice trailing off, I was hit by a blast of magenta light that felt disturbingly like unfocused chaos magic. "So not a changeling." Moonlight and I just stared, flabbergasted at how someone had made it through my spell. I said, "How in the name of Luna's loopy locomotive did you not stop with the rest?!" "A general magic ward. They're quite useful when dealing with unknown magic. Especially when chaotic outcomes are likely. Now will you please release my friends?" The now obviously very powerful mage smiled at us, but I could also tell she was scared of the power I held myself. "Alright, but while we explain our... situation, can you please keep the... Dragon? Drakon? Whichever the kid is, away from Moonlight here. Names Hurricane Eye by the way," I stated. "Twilight Sparkle," she said, still looking nervously around. It wasn't until after I freed us that I realized she was tapping her foot and not locked spatially in one place below the neck like every other mage, coyote or wolf, that has done, or been within, this particular spell. I then started the spell release, "I let my hold release on the sands forced to cease so the waters may flow again." In the time talking to the mage, I'd forgotten about the rope, which I was reminded about very quickly as it went taught and I was whipped backward. "STOP!" The voice of the mage seemed to freeze everyone. "Let's all just go somewhere so we can talk. Please?" Rainbow mane and the plain pony both nodded, the plain one grabbing her hat from the ground where it fell, miraculously intact after the tumble, and we all began trotting back towards town. About halfway there, we ran into the other two ponies from the library. Quickly explaining that explanations would come when we reached some place called Sugarcube Corner, they fell into step with us. When we reached the building, which turned out to be a pastry shop that looked for all the world like a gingerbread house, we all went in and chose a booth. After we all sat down, the mares all looked at me and Moonlight expectantly. I sighed, thinking, 'This is going to be a very hard conversation.' Explanations, Evasions, and a Pink One that Scares Moonlight More than Dragons or Drakons I looked around at everyone nervously. Around the table was Twilight, the other horned one, the one with the oversized hat, the cyan bowling ball, and, behind the cyan winged one, the yellow winged one, who didn't seem to want to be there any more than a rabbit at an Alpha Hunter Tournament. Twilight was the first to speak, somewhat nervously, "I think we should get introductions out of the way," she said, and pointed each name to the pony, "I am Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and the one slightly behind Rainbow is Fluttershy." "I am Hurricane Eye, although Storm works too, and this is Moonlight Runner," I stated, before a massive growl that would put an Ursa to shame sounded around us, "and that," I added as everyone stared at me incredulously, "was my stomach. We'll just get out of your fur and and get some food." At that point I was severely red, having forgotten to eat before entering town, despite doing two Harmonized Chaos spells to disguise Moonlight and me, as well as the time stop spell, another that requires high energy. It was also an excuse to try and avoid any more questioning. That motive didn't slip past Applejack, as she looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Why not stay here? Food's on me," Rarity said, looking at me with a subtle smirk. I guess the evasion was kind of obvious. This time it was Moonlight that answered, "We thank you for your generosity, but we really just need to keep going." 'Way to go Moony, that won't make them curious.' I thought with extreme sarcasm, before saying aloud, "We can stay for one meal, but we don't have any way to pay you back, and for that I sincerely apologize." "Perish the thought-" started Rarity before being cut off by Dash. "Why are you in such a hurry?" "Rainbow don't butt in on anothers' business!" "It's fine," I started, "We're not from here. I'm on a journey to complete my apprenticeship. It's a two part journey, now three since the Great Lunar Being seems to have come back to the ground." Twilight finally spoke, "Does this have something to do with your magic?" "That's not something I want to explain in public, or really at all." "But it's an undocumented style of magic!" Moonlight smirked, and looked at me, "Once raised on high..." "An Archivist’s curiosity does not die," I finished sadly, " Do you at least have a private place we can talk?" "We can go back to my library. Is that alright?" Moonlight seemed to be finally getting back to her old self at this, and stated with stunning sarcasm, "Why am I not surprised?" I kicked her under the table, before I said, "Let's go." We all got up and followed Twilight out. Arriving at the library, I stopped, wondering why the town was suddenly so quiet. Shrugging I followed all the mares inside, Moonlight just behind me. Right into the single most scary situation of my eighteen years of life. "SURPRISE!" This was immediately followed by Moonlight's shriek. My wings shot out with a ton of unconscious chaos that detonated a jug of chocolate milk. Thankfully no one noticed the explosion over the sound of Moonlights shriek, for which I was glad. I was not used to having something on my body that released magic so readily! Usually I had to concentrate that into a bark or a howl. I looked over to the collapsed Moonlight and saw that Spike had jumped out directly in front of her. I facepawed—or is it now facehoofed? I figured that the kid would be smarter after earlier. At that moment vision was suddenly filled with pink and noise so abruptly that I unconsciously snapped my wings open. Another blast of uncontrolled chaos magic launched me out the door, across the street and into a VERY sturdy tree, and I saw black. —*~*~*— I woke on a something rather soft. Opening my eyes, I saw I was on a purple bed in a room rather full of books. I also seemed to be on a loft within the room, like it was an entire living space, not simply a bedroom, and the loft separated the living space and sleeping area, though why it wasn't a separate room or den was beyond me. Looking across the room, I saw a quivering, but empty, bed, with a nightstand to its side and a lamp, without its shade, on the nightstand. I had a similar nightstand next to mine, just I had the lampshade. I tried to get up, but my back felt like one giant bruise. 'Another reason to learn to use these things,' I thought glancing at my wings, 'They release magic in a Concussion Bark spell without the required concentration and launch ME instead. Would be pretty awesome for flight though...' I heard the door open, jarring me from my thoughts, and I looked over to see Twilight enter. "Oh! Good you're awake," she said, sounding excited. "Oh, and Pinkie's gone," she added looking over at the quivering bed. I fought a strong urge to laugh, as the normally fearless Moonlight was terrorized by something other than what I had thought was the only thing she was afraid of. "What exactly... happened?" I asked hesitatingly. "When Pinkie, umm, 'Pinkied' you, you freaked out, blasted straight back, and knocked yourself out on a tree. After we put you in here, your friend, Moonlight, woke and Pinkie tried the same thing on her, except she only backed up, straight into Spike. After that, she bolted in here and hid under that bed. The party's still going on if you want to join in." "I'll come," I said before turning to Moonlight, "you coming Mooner?" I cackled, bolting out into the party and crowd to hide. Moonlight came out seconds after I'd hidden behind the snack table with a set of fake disguise glasses that I found with a note, 'In case of disguise emergencies.' Walking over to Moonlight and adopting the most proper Alpha Court accent I could, I asked, "How may I be of service, Mademoiselle?" All I received for my efforts was a wing to the back of the head. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" Dropping back to my normal voice I whispered, "You mooned the freaking wolves Alpha Council. I know we're coyotes, but they're still pretty important doggies." Moonlight just grinned before saying, "As long as I don't run into that dragon again. I want to enjoy myself, so let's PARTY!" She reared and took off towards the dance floor. I shook my head and looked around to see if Twilight had come out of that room yet. I needed someone to talk to as I did not dance. As was heading over to the snack table, Rainbow intercepted me with a cupcake in hoof, and a massive grin on her face. "Hey, you're finally awake!" "Yes. Yes I am." "Heck yeah, you can finally party!" Her excitement was contagious and I was soon smiling and enjoying the party. I still don’t know where that lampshade came from, or went, though. I must go where my journey takes me, but who says I can't stop along the way? Chapter 3The next morning was... interesting. Moonlight and I woke up in our clearing as usual, still disguised, as I still wanted to stay in this town, but what woke me was a massive wooden wolf on the edge of the clearing. It looked confused, and I could tell it had been trying to hunt us, but my Chaos magic was throwing it off. The wary predator kept watch on us before growling, ready to lunge. I got ready to physically beat it off, with Moonlight looking around for the rest of the possible pack. I continued staring at it, as I stood straight looking it dead in the eye, daring it to attack. The stare down continued as I felt Moonlight tense against my side, facing the other direction, and I knew more of the pack had revealed themselves. Knowing it was the only way, I started channelling my magic into my wings, despite the fact I had no experience with the appendages, and they felt much more powerful and volatile than any Concussive Bark, or Dragon's Breath spell—the only two quick combat spells I'd ever managed to become some manner of proficient in. I shot my left wing out and released a Dragon's Breath spell, and felt the wave of heat leave me. The flame did its job in making the wolves of wood feel we weren't the easy meal they thought and leave, despite the flame being a pink that made that Pinkie mare look dull in comparison. Moonlight relaxed slightly and looked over at me, and said in an extremely annoyed tone, "If we can't remove the disguises for the nights, we are not sleeping in the woods anymore." "Fine by me. You know I can't quick cast. I can barely do the Bark, and that's the first time I've done the Breath since the incident." "Yeah, you're slower sure, but aren't you like, fifty times more powerful?" "Haven't I explained this to you before?" "Yes, but you never give a direct answer when I ask about your power level, or what happened during last year’s Midwinter Alpha Council beyond turning yourself into a literal bitch? Or, for that matter, what happened with the aborted wedding?" "The wedding story will only see the light of day if I see Luna in bright pink pantaloons with purple polka-dots, same with the power level explanation. Suffice to say quick casting is a bad idea should I lose control. This ties in with my outcasting.” I paused in thought before mentioning, “You know, I still don't understand why you stuck by me." At this comment she looked me directly in the eyes before giving her usual answer, just as solemn and earnest as it always is, "I never abandon my friends. Even if it was tough, we made it through." "Thanks Moonlight." "Your welcome. Oh look! We're here!" Going from solemn to puppishly excited, I turned as we exited the forest and started towards the outskirts of the town. I turned to Moonlight suddenly, feeling extremely panicked after a realization that nearly floored me. When she saw my face she looked around quickly for the threat, wondering what had me so panicked. I looked at her with a one thousand mile stare, appearing to stare through her, at something far in the distance. "Beef Jerky and Bacon," I said, sounding dead, "These forms can't consume meat. I can't make beef jerky or bacon... Why?! IN THE NAME OF LUPUS' LARGE LUCKY LIPS, WHY?!?" I yelled the last part to the heavens and dropped heavily to my rump. Moonlight just stared at me with a confused expression before bursting out laughing her tail off. "That's... that's what has you so distraught?! Food?" That's as far as she got before breaking down into convulsions of laughter. A voice suddenly sounded above us. "Hey guys!" Looking up to confirm the voice, I saw Rainbow Dash hovering overhead looking somewhat confused. "Who's Lupus and why do they have lucky lips?" "I'm assuming," Twilight’s voice came up the hill, followed by Twilight and Fluttershy, both following a small bird, "that he is a being of some importance, and that was an expletive similar to you saying 'sweet Celestia.” I have no idea where this being originates from though." "Hey Hurricane," Moonlight started, "it sounds like we're back with Firefang!" The sarcasm was stunning. Before anyone could respond, I jumped into the conversation. "Can I ask why you three are up here?" "Flutters here said that, for two days in a row, her animal friends have been seeing strange lights, and this one here," Rainbow said, motioning to the bird that had alighted on Fluttershy when Twilight and Fluttershy had made it to us, "apparently lives in the clearing it happened in. Would you guys happen to know anything about that?" I shared a quick look with Moonlight, something that didn't go unnoticed by the other three. "What would you know about funny lights in the Everfree," Dash asked suspiciously. "Um... Mister Finch is saying that ...um... its Mister Hurricane that made the lights, but… but that Mister Hurricane isn't a... pony...." Fluttershy seemed to trail off at the end after realizing something. I looked around to see Rainbow ready to attack, and Twilight's horn glowing. 'This is bad,' I thought, 'I can't quick cast well enough to get out of this.' At that point Twilight cast something that hit me in a much more focussed manner than the other spell she had used. My metamorphosis spell only just held, and I could tell that she was only using about half, maybe two thirds, of the power she could channel. That was staggering, considering my master had once told me that I had the most raw power of any Shaman in the last three centuries, and here was this little pony, nearly destroying my spell, while holding back! Now I was scared. And at exactly that moment, though my pony change held, an illusion I'd been holding in place since a little after my outcasting dropped. Everyone, Moonlight included, stared at the brand over my left eye. It was a triangle with an inscribed circle, and within the circle was a lightning bolt. The mark of the Killer, given to me the one and only time I've ever lost control. "What... is that?" Asked a dumbfounded Rainbow. Twilight looked halfway between confused at the symbol and horrified at the branding, while Fluttershy just looked horrified, and Moonlight looked saddened, as she was the only one that knew what the mark meant, though not the reason I received it. "That," I snarled, glaring, "is the an Alpha Mark, given to outcasts, this Mark can only be given by a Council Alpha and means I will never be accepted back home. Goodbye." With that I turned and started off, realizing too late that I probably said too much. 'Every time,' I thought, 'Every time I think I might be able to manage a few friends, I lose it. I've kept this Mark hidden for five Luna damned years!' I sped to a canter, then a gallop, then a full out sprint. Just wanting to get away. Just needing to run, my cheerful shield starting to fall again. I ran and ran starting to go up to a road. towards a distant mountain, just going, starting to subconsciously dip into my power, something I'm normally so careful never to do, as I can't cast on the fly. I started going faster and faster, running, the chaos flowing. I saw a train in the distance rapidly approaching, and as I travelled faster, I became closer to the chaos, and began to here through any active spells I had, which, if not done under meditation, can lose the wielder to the magic. I wasn't under meditation, but I didn't care. Suddenly, I lost myself to the spell. Falling unconscious and falling... falling... falling.... Moonlight stared at Hurricane's retreating form retreating form, already a dot in the distance, saddened at his loss of control. Why now, of all the times to lose control, why now. Lupus almighty, please bring him back. I don't want to lose him again. She looked to the mares, whose looks demanded an explanation of Moonlight. "Can we at least talk somewhere private?" she asked, resigned to the fact there was no getting around the fact that Hurricane's behavior needed explanation. "We'll talk in the library," Twilight said, looking pissed. For all Moonlight knew chaos could easily be forbidden magic in this land. The mares and Moonlight, still in pony form, all walked to the library in silence. Once inside Twilight cast some kind of spell, explaining that now no one could hear their conversation. "Now what was that, and why did Storm run," asked a miffed Rainbow Dash. "He ran because someone destroyed a mental ward." Moonlight started before turning to Twilight and snarling out, "hasn't anyone ever taught you you never mess with another's spells? I'm about the farthest thing from a Lupus damned Shaman and I know that. You’re lucky it didn't backlash and kill you! Instead, anything he does will be on you. I wash my hands of this and I'm going to find him. Don't try and stop me." When Moonlight turned to leave Rainbow dropped in front of her. She snarled again, and started the trigger she knew Hurricane put in any consented spell he cast on a non-user. "May I of the spell be released The disguise of form be ceased and I be Moonlight Runner again" There was a flash of bright white light, and Hurricane lost the connection. Snapping back into my body was a painful experience. I rolled over and realized that it had been a while since I lost the connection. The sun was setting and I heard the sound of an argument taking place. It seemed to stop when I groaned, my body protesting at the massive amount of magic I put it through, along with the physical exertion. Instantly Moonlight was over me, out of disguise. "Why did you drop it?" I asked her, referring to the fact it was a coyote standing over me, not a pony. "Wait! You knew about that!?" Rainbow's voice came from the direction of the previous argument. "Yes," I started, seeing no point in hiding the fact of what we were anymore, "it's my spell-work. The rhyme she used was a trigger to drop the disguise without a Shaman's help. I'm a Shaman, and Luna's large lungs, my head hurts!" "Found her!" Another voice cut into our conversation, that of Twilight Sparkle, who ran over to Rainbow, followed by AJ, Fluttershy, Rarity,Pinkie and Spike. Moonlight dropped back, growling at the sight of Spike. Twilight was the only one that came forward. Looking between me and Moonlight. "Are you alright?" she asked standing over me. "I'm not to bad. My head hurts like Lupus used it as a fight ring, but I should be fine." "Oh dear, I have some herbs that'll help with a headache," Fluttershy exclaimed, or what passed for an exclamation for her, suddenly losing all fear and approaching quickly. I got up slowly, feeling extremely stiff. "I feel like I was hit by a train. Again." The last word was directed a Rainbow. "Well, you ran just about the entire way to Canterlot. I'm not surprised. The train tracks are just to our north out of sight though, So you can't have been hit. Canterlot itself is only another hours walk north though, so we should go there and just stay in the castle tonight." Twilight suggested this while the sun was just dipping out of sight. "I'm not even going to ask. Just as long as its warm and soft, I'll sleep on anything. And before I forget, do you six want me to remove my disguise, or give Moonlight a new one. I may be physically exhausted, but that spell, when bound to a host, rather than the circle itself, uses next to no energy from me." "New disguise" "No disguise" Both were said at the same time, The former by Twilight and Fluttershy, the latter by Applejack and Rainbow. They all explained their reasoning: Fluttershy was scared of the carnivorous coyote forms, no surprise to anyone, Applejack hated the dishonesty of the disguises, Rainbow thought Moonlights form was "bad flank" and figured I would be just as awesome, and Twilight reasoned that it would be a bad idea to scare the locals with our undisguised coyote forms. The other two conceded, AJ with a grumble and Rainbow looking slightly disappointed. After drawing a new spell circle, being beyond attentive and careful, despite my train wreck feeling, I had Moonlight step in and began, "To waters change I commend her physical being Another native, may others be seeing And with this morph their abilities too while she remains her, magic and true" With a flash of light that made all of us wince and me to pray to Lupus, Luna, and any other divine being that it wouldn't attract the Defenders, or whatever this lands equivalent was. What stepped out of the circle made me have to hold back any laughter, as Moonlight would kill me if I laughed. She still had her coat colour, that lovely shimmering grey, but her main was a bright hot pink, along with her tail, no wings or horn, while her butt mark—I should probably ask what those are called—was a full moon, just begging me to call her Mooner, and her eyes were still a stormy grey, and her glare was daring me to say anything about her appearance. I couldn't help it, the laughter flooded over, and I was laughing through the stiffness and physical pain I was still feeling. She continued to glare at me, while everyone else started to chuckle at my reaction, even the timid Fluttershy let out a little giggle. Eventually Moonlight relented and laughed with the rest of us. After an indeterminate amount of time, we, or more specifically, I composed myself enough that we could move on, and we started following Twilight in the direction of Canterlot. Chapter 4Walking through Canterlot was a trying experience. It was only once we reached the city limits that I realized I'd forgotten to re-illusion my Mark. I was getting weird stares from the ponies in the street. At least, the ones that had there eyes forward. The ones with their noses in the air were just begging for a tell off from one of the dominants, especially since the so called nobles lost their Alphaship long ago. At least, if that was how it worked here. I was a little lost as this was nothing like any pack, or even the Capital, the one city in Lycana. We made it to the castle about a half hour after we entered the city and went around to a private door, as, according to Twilight, the front gates would be closed for another hour before the Night Court started. Why a Day Court and a Night Court were needed was beyond me. The Defenders surprisingly just let Twilight pass, no questions asked beyond a quick submission to that same disturbingly chaotic spell Twilight used during my time stop stunt, which I'm surprised she hadn't interrogated me about yet. That and my stupid comment on my Journey. Once we were inside, Twilight turned to us and said, "We should probably go and check in with the Princesses. Its only eight so they should be in the dining hall for dinner." We followed her to the dining room and upon entry I saw the strangest sight I have ever had the misfortune of seeing. At the end of the table, on either side of the head, were ponies with both wings and a horn. The one on the right was white with a pastel mane in constant motion. She was in gold regalia and had a grin that spoke of a bet that was won, and no matter the retribution, the reward was worth it. Across the table from her was a dark blue pony with a flowing mane the colour of the cosmos and black regalia and... my jaw dropped at the horrific sight. I looked around at everyone else's reactions Moonlight, Pinkie, and Rainbow were rolling on the ground laughing while everyone else shared my stunned to silence reaction. The dark blue pony was in the pooffiest, to the point I swear they were inflated, pantaloons I have ever laid eyes on. They were a pink that hurt to look at with lavender poka-dots a similar colour to Twilights coat. My Chaos magic took that moment to inform me that this was Luna, Goddess of the Moon, The Great Lunar Being, Saviour of the Lycans in her defeat of Discord through unknown means, and she was a pony. In pantaloons. Telling me I have at least three embarrassing stories I owe Moonlight, Firefang, and my Master, as well as a couple of skeletons in my past I owe Moonlight. I, Hurricane Eye, the Chaos Storm, bearer of the Mark of the Killer and the Journeyman Shaman have seen the Goddess in pants. As a pony. The Goddess of the Lycans was a pony. This was going to take a while to sink in. Twilight was the first one to regain her voice, Moonlight and Rainbow still immobilized by laughter, Pinkie just sporting a grin that defied basic biology, Rarity now appeared to be trying to unsee the outfit and Fluttershy appeared to be broken, "Princess Celestia, may I ask why Princess Luna is in that outfit?" "She lost a bet with me and must do everything not within the public eye in a set of magically inflated pantaloons of a garish colour scheme." "What was the bet?' Applejack asked, and, as the rest of us also seemed to have regained our composure, with the exception of the still broken Fluttershy, we all leaned in to hear. "The bet was that this would be the month that we wouldn't receive a panic letter from Spike over something in Ponyville." At this Twilight turned red and ducked her head slightly. "But," Rainbow started, still reigning in laughter, "It's only the second." "We made the bet yesterday," Luna grumbled. I was still in shock and looking over at Moonlight, I saw she had caught when Twilight had said Luna's name, and was giving me a grin that told me she also knew I owed her some stories. This was the weirdest day I had had yet, and I had only just completed the first leg of my journey. However, being in the presence of the Princesses, the other shoe had to drop. "Who are these two?" Celestia asked looking at me and Moonlight. "They are more of those odd ponies. They show up at least once a year, and when they see me their brains seem to break. I don't understand why," Luna responded to Celestia's question, surprising me in seeing past my shock at her attire, into my shock at her species. "What was the last one to do this?" Celestia asked, turning to her sister. Luna's comment had removed any and all doubt that my magic was messing with me, and this was the honest to Lupus Luna. As soon as I realized that, I bowed deeply, head to the ground, neck to the side, throat at an angle, exactly as an Omega would bow to a Council Alpha. Upon seeing this Moonlight followed my lead. Luna didn't bat an eye at Moonlight and my display. It seemed she really did see a lot of the Shamans, although I now wondered why the Masters never warned their apprentices about this. Though I guess they could say it's all about the journey. "The last one," Luna said, answering the now gaping Celestia, "was just about ten months ago. A pegasus by the name of Midnight Fang, with a unicorn named Lightning Storm." 'Well, I finally have species names, I just don't know which type of pony goes to which name.' The thought running through my head as Celestia turns towards us and I feel a tiny tendril of magic hit my illusion, becoming Backlash, nowhere near enough to kill or even hurt the caster, but enough to tell them whatever they were after. Probably deducing that I was within an illusion, or that it was chaos magic. After the tendril, Celestia's eyes went from the caring, baffled Princess, to cold, dangerous warrior. I was suddenly very nervous, and that was before she spoke, her voice previously warm and caring, now colder than the peak of Howling Mountain in the middle of winter. "Who and what are you?" Out of fear I pulled another risky spell, one my master said was a Chant Cast that truly powerful Shamans could use without too much risk. An uncontrolled teleport that's only destination was away, and the last time I pulled this is another story I owe Moonlight after seeing the Goddess in pants. "With a mariochy band distraction, The Lycans escape with a teleportation compaction." As I said the chant, I felt another's magic latch themselves to mine, and the user was suddenly in physical contact with another, meaning I suddenly had two extra tag alongs I wasn't expecting. At least I knew I had more than enough power to get pretty much anywhere within a couple hundred kilometres. As we shrinking into nothing, the way the teleport works, I saw the smoke from the distraction clear and I got my second look at what a mariochy band was, beyond knowing what the word was, as my master refused tell me what one was. All the ponies in the room were in brightly coloured ponchos, with a bunch of strange instruments in front of them which I still didn't get around to seeing properly as I was to distracted by everyone having a moustache of epic proportions. We then disappeared with a 'pop.' ~*~*~ When we came out of the teleportation the first thing I thought was, 'This happens way too often.' I was, for the fourth time in my life, a female. I looked around at everyone, seeing who tagged along on the spell. While trying to figure out what happened. Around me was Twilight, Moonlight and... myself! I looked down at my own body and saw I had a cyan coat and rainbow tail. Twilight and Moonlight were both glaring at my body, which I suddenly noticed had stormy grey eyes, rather than my ice blue peepers. Moonlight was glaring at me, as she knew this side effect to multi-being spells if anything messes with them in the middle of casting. I had once switched Firefang, Moonlight and myself around in bodies. I had ended up masquerading as Moonlight. It was another one of those times my Master told my she wouldn't change me back unless I couldn't after a fortnights effort. We spent a week in the archives looking for the counter. Thankfully the magic is attached to the spirit, not the body. Looking for the counter I also found out some other useful information, such as the fact the Griffon Empire was helped to be founded by a pegasus named Streak. Now I just needed to find out what a griffon and a pegasus were and I'd understand that little tidbit. "I'm actually Hurricane," I said in Rainbow's voice. The glaring turned to me and I saw that Moonlight's body had lavender eyes, making that Twilight, which meant Rainbow was in Twilights body. She was now horny! I instantly recognized these thoughts as every sing Luna damned TIME! I was turned into a female, I was always, always in heat. I glared at Dash, who was smirking at me, fully aware of her previous condition. I really need to start carrying a scroll with the body switchback spell. I do not need these thoughts going through my head! Especially not about Moonlight! After hearing a loud pomf I do the first thing that comes to my head to get cool, I juno into the full ditch on the side of the road. My head exits the water just in time to hear Moonlight ask Dash 'the question,' "Are you in heat?" "Yes, yes I am," Dash answered her still smirking smugly. "Thats four out of four times now," Moonlight states smugly, turning to look at me. Glaring at... I guess she was a him when she's in my body, I deliberately turned to Twilight, and asked, while trying very hard to keep from admiring Moonlight's body, "Where are we?" "You mean you don't know where you teleported us to?!" "I should probably eventually give you an explanation of my magic, but in this case suffice to say I'm too powerful to accurately teleport." "Ignoring the fact that goes against just about every rule of magic there is, there is a sign over there," Twilight said, pointing to a large crossroads a few minutes to the south. After reaching it, I saw the distances and wondered how much of Twilight's own magic made it into my spell. Chaos and Order magic might be fundamentally different, but to a spell, power is power. I know even using every once of power I have I could normally only reach about three-quarters of this distance, and the spell consumed all the power I'd allotted it, which would bring us about a two weeks from Canterlot. The distance to Canterlot from here, according to the sign, was six weeks. And Rainbow, currently inhabiting Twilights body, didn't even look tired! Despite magic casting being tied to the spirit, meaning I could still cast, despite currently inhabiting Rainbow's heat ridden body, the physical body still took all the strain, even with a body switch. Four days to our south was Dryhoof and the border of the Great Southern Rainforest, and a week to the east was Stalliongrad. To our west was a massive forest that, if I had to guess, bordered this entire countries western border. The Chaos magic was pulling me south towards, and probably beyond, Dryhoof. I looked to my three companions, before saying, "What do you guys want to do? We can go forward to the next destination and hope for a swapback there or we can go to Lycana, get the spell that'll swap us back and then come back to where ever here is." I looked at Twilight's and Rainbow's confused looks before realizing I never actually explained a thing about myself, my home or my magic before dragging them on this messed up journey. Or did they drag themselves into it? Into... I quickly shook my head again before that thought went any farther, I was a MALE dammit! Moonlight took the conversation over as she realized exactly how indisposed I was, despite sitting in a ditch full of freezing water. "How about we do this question for question? I know you have them and, frankly, me and Storm have been flying blind in this country." "Sure!" "...okay." It sounded really weird to hear Moonlights voice so hesitant, even if I knew Moonlight was Twilight. That and it was really weird looking at my own body not using a mirror. "First question, what is this country we landed in?" "Equestria, ruled the two immortal princesses, Celestia and Luna. My turn, what is Lycana?" "The country Hurricane and I hail from. About three weeks run to the west and home of the Wolves and the Coyotes, as well as the First Reign Archives." I was a little surprised at her mention of the archives, but then, she may have been trying to distract Twilight, and that was probably the only sure way from what little of her we'd seen. "Now for my question, what in the name of the Great Pack type of magic do you have that can mess with, break or latch onto Hurricane's strongest spell's, That shouldn't work!" "I study magic a lot and I've got a fair sized magic reserve-" "That's putting it lightly," I butt in. At this Moonlight and Dash looked at me curiously, while Twilight looked at me sheepishly. I continued after the silence dragged on for five seconds with, "You've got at least half your power behind a ward so you can't draw on it, making you more powerful than me, and our kind of power is a once a millennium occurrence." Wasn't this in one of the Archive books Firefang showed you?" Moonlight asked. At this I stated, "The ten most powerful beings in the First Reign boundaries. Discord, Celestia, Luna, Orion Hunter (Famous Coyote), Starswirl the Bearded (Not sure who that is), Twilight Sparkle (You), Hurricane Eye (Me), Ocean Tide, Green Grove (More unsures), and Forest Stalker (An insane Coyote). You also use Order magic, something that should be impossible." "Order?" Twilight asked, "What do mean, I just use regular magic. My next question, though, is what are the First Reign Archives?" "The Archives," I explained, finally getting somewhat over the initial shock of being in heat, again, "are, at the same time, Discord's most benevolent and malevolent act. Can we talk about this on the road, I've finally cooled off, so do you want to continue the journey, or go to Lycana?" "Continue." Twilight and Moonlight said in chorus. "Why can't we talk to the Princesses?" Rainbow asked. "You don't mix Chaos and Order magic. Ever. So unless you find a benevolent Discord or the wolf God Lupus, it's either go back to my home, or continue and hope to find the swapback spell on the journey." "Fine, we'll continue and hope for the best." "Alright, off we go," I said with enthusiasm, before leading everyone south. A/N: The chapter was starting to get long so I split it, the exposition on Lycana and headcanon Equestria will continue next chapter. Prologue I stared at my master in disbelief. "You’re saying the spirit journey will take a few years?" "I may not be able to talk about it, but it is almost certain to take a while. You may bring one companion and once you return..." My master said, trailing off as she waited for me to finish the sentence. "I may only talk about it with you, my companion, or a Council Shaman. Like they'd ever see me. I'm not import—" "Stop. You are important, and you'll go on to do great things. Every Shaman takes a spirit journey. I'm not sending you away, and your companion has already volunteered if you'll have her." "It's Mooner, isn't it." "You know, the Alpha Council won't tell me why you call her that, she won't tell me, and I respect you too much to order you to tell me. I ask again, as your friend and mentor; what is with that name?" "I'll tell you if I ever see Luna in bright pink pantaloons with purple polka-dots." I said, looking over at the small statue of the two lupine deities, the small coyote of the moon, and the large wolf and creator of canine kind. "Mark my word, you'll be telling me when you get back." "Maybe. So, just to confirm..." I started "Follow the Magic. It'll bring you to where you need to go, and don't forget to stop along the way..." She continued, trailing off. "As its not about the destination, but the journey to it," I finished my Master's wisdom with a grin. "Alright you got it, now go forth and enjoy your adventure." She shooed me away as I took one last look around the cottage I'd called home for the past decade of my apprenticeship as a Shaman, looking at the jars of ingredients, the caldron, the paintings that I made to teach me focus still hung on the walls, alongside soul masks and icons of Luna and Lupus. Heading outside I took one last look around the clearing; containing the cook pit, a sparring and fight ring, and a twelve and a half foot charred circle where I'd failed my first fire spell; and finally at my best friend, Moonlight Runner, the one who stuck by me, even after the accident that had me outcasted. I looked at her and nodded with a smile, before motioning for her to follow me. We both took off, heading straight east, following the chaos magic out of Lycana and into the great unknown.
1. A New Place We stared at the tiny village. It had a rustic feel to it and looked friendly enough, but we dared not enter until we knew what lived there, especially not in the dead of night on a new moon. Doing that in the Lycana was a bad idea, and I would bet my first born pup that it was here to. Especially when the species of the inhabitants was yet unknown. I looked over at my best friend and travelling companion, Moonlight Runner. Her coat was a shimmering grey, like the colour of the full moon above a thin layer of clouds, her tail thumped nervously against the ground, stormy eyes glaring into the sky. "Three weeks,” I groaned, “how the hell were we three weeks from any civilization on this planet!" "We need food," she muttered. My jaw hit the ground,"You ate an entire freaking manticore yesterday, for Lupus’ sake!" She just turned, sniffing snobbishly. "A coyote's gotta eat." I just shook my head and started loping after her. The next morning we were looking into the village from the edge of the forest. The town was now alive with activity, and all Moonlight could do was gape. "Ponies," she muttered before exclaiming at an unfortunate volume, "IN THE NAME OF LUNA'S BRIGHT PINK COTTON BLOOMERS THEY'RE PONIES!' A bright pink pony with a mane that cannot be described as anything other than cotton candy made hair looked over, we instantly ducked hoping to Lupus, Luna, and any other listening deity that we weren't seen. Thankfully a rainbow maned pony with wings, seemed to distract the pink one, though we didn't catch the words. 'Wait a second wings?!' I thought doing a double take, but missing both ponies, as they seemed to have simply disappeared. "They're supposed to be a myth," I muttered awestruck, then noticed Moonlight was no longer next to me, but behind me ready to go back to our clearing. We ducked back into the forest, going to our clearing, a small one off any paths, with a midsize pond about five minutes walk in. "We need disguises," Moonlight muttered. I rolled my eyes. " I got you covered." I began the delicate process of a Higher Harmonized Chaos enchantment. First drawing the spell circle in runes, taking great care not to mess up. After the first circle was complete, the change, I added another ring of runes around the outside, the hold, so the illusion would last outside the circle. The hold binding the illusion to us,not the circle, as without the hold, the transformation would die at about a kilometre outside the circle. Moonlight stayed silent, knowing how volatile chaos magic, especially harmonized, or effect holding chaos magic, could be. I drew the symbols in the circle with great care, wanting the transformation to keep our gender the same, as the first time I did this, my master refused to change me back until I learned how to do it myself. I ended up walking around for a weak as a she. Worst week of my life. As a bitch. In heat. In the middle of an alpha wolf meet. I WAS ONLY THERE TO STUDY UNDER MY MASTER AND I HAD TO BEAT SUITORS OFF WITH A LUPUS DAMNED STICK! I mean, I know mages are rare, but that was bad. I finished the last rune and turned to Moonlight. "You're going first," she deadpanned. I sighed and stepped into the circle, saying, "To waters change I commend my physical being Another native, may others be seeing And with this morph their abilities too while I remain me, magic and true" I again took care with the chant, as messing up a spell that requires one is a recipe for disaster. Very possibly lethal disaster if the spell affects a living being. I felt the rush of magic and stepped out of the circle, walking over to the pond to look in. In place of my wolfish face, a pony head stared back. My fur was still jet black, but atop my head sat a midnight blue mane, I turned around and saw my tail was now also midnight blue and... "What in the name of Lupus' purple pantaloons is on my butt," I said looking at Moonlight. She giggled. "You're the correct gender then?" "Yes," I deadpanned at her. She stepped into the circle, and I repeated the rhyme and the circle went white. The light made me nervous. I was suddenly glad we were in the forest and doing this during the day. The light was BRIGHT. I had forgotten how bright these spell circles could be, a first year apprentice mistake that would have had my master tear me a new one. After the light died, it wasn't Moonlight Runner the coyote standing there, it was Moonlight Runner the winged pony. WAIT A MINUTE. I checked my back then looked back at Moonlight, "One, we need to learn to fly. Two, we need to figure out what we're called. And three, WHAT IN THE NAME OF LUNA AND LUPUS' ILLEGITIMATE LOVE CHILD IS THE CHAOS SYMBOL FOR CHAOS DOING ON MY ASS?" (Pulled off google images. If this is someones work, let me know so I can credit them.) "I kinda like having a Lunar eclipse on my rump," Moonlight stated primly. I deadpanned at her and said, "Maturity, Mooner." Then, before she could respond or bite my head off, figuratively or literally, over the hated nickname, "We ran for three weeks to get here, we should probably check out what here is." Moonlight turned and walked away. "Coming?" she called over her shoulder. I simply gaped at her dark, storm cloud grey tail, which was swayingway more than necessary. Quickly snapping out of it I hurried to catch up, and we walked towards the little town. We walked into town quietly and tried to remain inconspicuous. Moonlight had fallen slightly behind me as we made our way a massive tree at the edge of town, sign above the door stating it was the library. I glanced towards Moonlight, grinning as I knew she hated the archives back home, "Best place for info Moony." "Call me that again and I'll start calling you Stormy." "Okay, okay." I said, scared she'd actually follow through on the threat. I nudged open the door and stepped inside, Moonlight following close behind. Just inside was a tiny dragon. Moonlight instantly tensed and pressed close to me ready to bolt. He looked like he was about to say something, but was confused by Moonlights reaction. It was in that moment of tangible tension that the door burst open and we were bowled over by what I could only describe as a cyan train. Moonlight, the little dragon, and I were all thrown into the wall and I was buried beneath Moonlight and the entire reference section of the library. "I won!" Yelled a tomcoltish voice, muffled by the Ea-Ec encyclopedia on my face. "Ya used yer wings!" shouted a southern accent. "Spike, whats an entire section of the library doing on the floor, and why does the pile look bigger than it should?" I swear I would see one of the archive tenders if this encylcopedia, and the others in my line of sight, weren't in the way. I mean, that sounded really bookish. "Its obviously because Rainbow ran into new ponies and knocked them into the wall, knocking down all the book on them and...," There was 10 seconds of silence before an absolutely impossibly long gasp then, "NEW PONIES!" followed by a swoosh and an indignant "humph" that I could swear belonged in an alpha's court. The door then shut and there was silence, before the bookish voice spoke. "Spike are there really ponies under that pile?" "Yes," said a really young sounding voice. There was a collective intake of breath and my field of vision lit up in a magenta aura as the entire pile was lifted, revealing Moonlight and I, as well as showing that her snout was trapped between two volumes until they were lifted, explaining the curious lack of snark under the pile. As it was lifted, I saw five mares and a dragon looking at me and Moonlight. The dragon looked curious, a purple pony with a horn atop her head (I really needed to get species names) was studying us intensely, another horned pony, this one a lovely white with a purple mane, was looking shocked at us being under there, a pony without wings or a horn was glaring at the cyan freight train, that turned out to be an extremely guilty looking winged pony, and finally a butter yellow winged pony who looked like she wanted to approach, but seemed to be hiding behind the plain pony the same way Moonlight was hidden behind me from the dragon. Finally the dragon, Spike I would assume, broke the silence, "Are you two-" that's as far as he got before he took a step and Moonlight bolted, almost runnning over the pony with the hat, and getting the hat caught on a slightly extended wing, before the bbrush with the hat causes her wings to tense closed and catch the brim, holding the hat against her. "MOONLIGHT!" I yelled as I ran full speed after her. "Hey, git back here with that!" I heard the southern voice yell, not looking back to put a face it. I continued to run, trying to catch Moonlight, but damn was she fast, and I couldn't cast on the fly. As we approached the forest I began to wonder why the rainbow winged one hadn't caught up yet, I mean, isn't flying faster than running? I didn't have the time to look behind me though, as it took all my concentration just to keep up with Moonlight. It was about five minutes of sprinting after her that I figured out where the cyan pony went to when she literally dropped out of nowhere in front of Moonlight, I saw the collision about half a second before my headlong sprint was arrested by a rope that seemed to just appear around my barrel. Apparently Moonlight's abrupt exit didn't go over too well. "A stop I put to the sand The Hurricane and Moonlight on a separate land With the power to stay time's hand." Time stopped around us as I removed myself and Moonlight from its flow, the spell a rather simple panic spell that allowed conversation, but disallowed any spatial movement. So I was stopped suspended from a rope with all four legs pointing forward, while moonlight was upside down in the middle of a tumble with the cyan freight train. Spell complete I looked at Moonlight. "Still haven't kicked your draconiphobia?" The next voice startled us both. "Amazing, you’re a pegasus who can do magic?... or a…." With the voice trailing off, I was hit by a blast of magenta light that felt disturbingly like unfocused chaos magic. "So not a changeling." Moonlight and I just stared, flabbergasted at how someone had made it through my spell. I said, "How in the name of Luna's loopy locomotive did you not stop with the rest?!" "A general magic ward. They're quite useful when dealing with unknown magic. Especially when chaotic outcomes are likely. Now will you please release my friends?" The now obviously very powerful mage smiled at us, but I could also tell she was scared of the power I held myself. "Alright, but while we explain our... situation, can you please keep the... Dragon? Drakon? Whichever the kid is, away from Moonlight here. Names Hurricane Eye by the way," I stated. "Twilight Sparkle," she said, still looking nervously around. It wasn't until after I freed us that I realized she was tapping her foot and not locked spatially in one place below the neck like every other mage, coyote or wolf, that has done, or been within, this particular spell. I then started the spell release, "I let my hold release on the sands forced to cease so the waters may flow again." In the time talking to the mage, I'd forgotten about the rope, which I was reminded about very quickly as it went taught and I was whipped backward. "STOP!" The voice of the mage seemed to freeze everyone. "Let's all just go somewhere so we can talk. Please?" Rainbow mane and the plain pony both nodded, the plain one grabbing her hat from the ground where it fell, miraculously intact after the tumble, and we all began trotting back towards town. About halfway there, we ran into the other two ponies from the library. Quickly explaining that explanations would come when we reached some place called Sugarcube Corner, they fell into step with us. When we reached the building, which turned out to be a pastry shop that looked for all the world like a gingerbread house, we all went in and chose a booth. After we all sat down, the mares all looked at me and Moonlight expectantly. I sighed, thinking, 'This is going to be a very hard conversation.'
Explanations, Evasions, and a Pink One that Scares Moonlight More than Dragons or Drakons I looked around at everyone nervously. Around the table was Twilight, the other horned one, the one with the oversized hat, the cyan bowling ball, and, behind the cyan winged one, the yellow winged one, who didn't seem to want to be there any more than a rabbit at an Alpha Hunter Tournament. Twilight was the first to speak, somewhat nervously, "I think we should get introductions out of the way," she said, and pointed each name to the pony, "I am Twilight Sparkle, and these are my friends Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and the one slightly behind Rainbow is Fluttershy." "I am Hurricane Eye, although Storm works too, and this is Moonlight Runner," I stated, before a massive growl that would put an Ursa to shame sounded around us, "and that," I added as everyone stared at me incredulously, "was my stomach. We'll just get out of your fur and and get some food." At that point I was severely red, having forgotten to eat before entering town, despite doing two Harmonized Chaos spells to disguise Moonlight and me, as well as the time stop spell, another that requires high energy. It was also an excuse to try and avoid any more questioning. That motive didn't slip past Applejack, as she looked at me with a cocked eyebrow. "Why not stay here? Food's on me," Rarity said, looking at me with a subtle smirk. I guess the evasion was kind of obvious. This time it was Moonlight that answered, "We thank you for your generosity, but we really just need to keep going." 'Way to go Moony, that won't make them curious.' I thought with extreme sarcasm, before saying aloud, "We can stay for one meal, but we don't have any way to pay you back, and for that I sincerely apologize." "Perish the thought-" started Rarity before being cut off by Dash. "Why are you in such a hurry?" "Rainbow don't butt in on anothers' business!" "It's fine," I started, "We're not from here. I'm on a journey to complete my apprenticeship. It's a two part journey, now three since the Great Lunar Being seems to have come back to the ground." Twilight finally spoke, "Does this have something to do with your magic?" "That's not something I want to explain in public, or really at all." "But it's an undocumented style of magic!" Moonlight smirked, and looked at me, "Once raised on high..." "An Archivist’s curiosity does not die," I finished sadly, " Do you at least have a private place we can talk?" "We can go back to my library. Is that alright?" Moonlight seemed to be finally getting back to her old self at this, and stated with stunning sarcasm, "Why am I not surprised?" I kicked her under the table, before I said, "Let's go." We all got up and followed Twilight out. Arriving at the library, I stopped, wondering why the town was suddenly so quiet. Shrugging I followed all the mares inside, Moonlight just behind me. Right into the single most scary situation of my eighteen years of life. "SURPRISE!" This was immediately followed by Moonlight's shriek. My wings shot out with a ton of unconscious chaos that detonated a jug of chocolate milk. Thankfully no one noticed the explosion over the sound of Moonlights shriek, for which I was glad. I was not used to having something on my body that released magic so readily! Usually I had to concentrate that into a bark or a howl. I looked over to the collapsed Moonlight and saw that Spike had jumped out directly in front of her. I facepawed—or is it now facehoofed? I figured that the kid would be smarter after earlier. At that moment vision was suddenly filled with pink and noise so abruptly that I unconsciously snapped my wings open. Another blast of uncontrolled chaos magic launched me out the door, across the street and into a VERY sturdy tree, and I saw black. —*~*~*— I woke on a something rather soft. Opening my eyes, I saw I was on a purple bed in a room rather full of books. I also seemed to be on a loft within the room, like it was an entire living space, not simply a bedroom, and the loft separated the living space and sleeping area, though why it wasn't a separate room or den was beyond me. Looking across the room, I saw a quivering, but empty, bed, with a nightstand to its side and a lamp, without its shade, on the nightstand. I had a similar nightstand next to mine, just I had the lampshade. I tried to get up, but my back felt like one giant bruise. 'Another reason to learn to use these things,' I thought glancing at my wings, 'They release magic in a Concussion Bark spell without the required concentration and launch ME instead. Would be pretty awesome for flight though...' I heard the door open, jarring me from my thoughts, and I looked over to see Twilight enter. "Oh! Good you're awake," she said, sounding excited. "Oh, and Pinkie's gone," she added looking over at the quivering bed. I fought a strong urge to laugh, as the normally fearless Moonlight was terrorized by something other than what I had thought was the only thing she was afraid of. "What exactly... happened?" I asked hesitatingly. "When Pinkie, umm, 'Pinkied' you, you freaked out, blasted straight back, and knocked yourself out on a tree. After we put you in here, your friend, Moonlight, woke and Pinkie tried the same thing on her, except she only backed up, straight into Spike. After that, she bolted in here and hid under that bed. The party's still going on if you want to join in." "I'll come," I said before turning to Moonlight, "you coming Mooner?" I cackled, bolting out into the party and crowd to hide. Moonlight came out seconds after I'd hidden behind the snack table with a set of fake disguise glasses that I found with a note, 'In case of disguise emergencies.' Walking over to Moonlight and adopting the most proper Alpha Court accent I could, I asked, "How may I be of service, Mademoiselle?" All I received for my efforts was a wing to the back of the head. "I'm never gonna live that down, am I?" Dropping back to my normal voice I whispered, "You mooned the freaking wolves Alpha Council. I know we're coyotes, but they're still pretty important doggies." Moonlight just grinned before saying, "As long as I don't run into that dragon again. I want to enjoy myself, so let's PARTY!" She reared and took off towards the dance floor. I shook my head and looked around to see if Twilight had come out of that room yet. I needed someone to talk to as I did not dance. As was heading over to the snack table, Rainbow intercepted me with a cupcake in hoof, and a massive grin on her face. "Hey, you're finally awake!" "Yes. Yes I am." "Heck yeah, you can finally party!" Her excitement was contagious and I was soon smiling and enjoying the party. I still don’t know where that lampshade came from, or went, though. I must go where my journey takes me, but who says I can't stop along the way?
Chapter 3The next morning was... interesting. Moonlight and I woke up in our clearing as usual, still disguised, as I still wanted to stay in this town, but what woke me was a massive wooden wolf on the edge of the clearing. It looked confused, and I could tell it had been trying to hunt us, but my Chaos magic was throwing it off. The wary predator kept watch on us before growling, ready to lunge. I got ready to physically beat it off, with Moonlight looking around for the rest of the possible pack. I continued staring at it, as I stood straight looking it dead in the eye, daring it to attack. The stare down continued as I felt Moonlight tense against my side, facing the other direction, and I knew more of the pack had revealed themselves. Knowing it was the only way, I started channelling my magic into my wings, despite the fact I had no experience with the appendages, and they felt much more powerful and volatile than any Concussive Bark, or Dragon's Breath spell—the only two quick combat spells I'd ever managed to become some manner of proficient in. I shot my left wing out and released a Dragon's Breath spell, and felt the wave of heat leave me. The flame did its job in making the wolves of wood feel we weren't the easy meal they thought and leave, despite the flame being a pink that made that Pinkie mare look dull in comparison. Moonlight relaxed slightly and looked over at me, and said in an extremely annoyed tone, "If we can't remove the disguises for the nights, we are not sleeping in the woods anymore." "Fine by me. You know I can't quick cast. I can barely do the Bark, and that's the first time I've done the Breath since the incident." "Yeah, you're slower sure, but aren't you like, fifty times more powerful?" "Haven't I explained this to you before?" "Yes, but you never give a direct answer when I ask about your power level, or what happened during last year’s Midwinter Alpha Council beyond turning yourself into a literal bitch? Or, for that matter, what happened with the aborted wedding?" "The wedding story will only see the light of day if I see Luna in bright pink pantaloons with purple polka-dots, same with the power level explanation. Suffice to say quick casting is a bad idea should I lose control. This ties in with my outcasting.” I paused in thought before mentioning, “You know, I still don't understand why you stuck by me." At this comment she looked me directly in the eyes before giving her usual answer, just as solemn and earnest as it always is, "I never abandon my friends. Even if it was tough, we made it through." "Thanks Moonlight." "Your welcome. Oh look! We're here!" Going from solemn to puppishly excited, I turned as we exited the forest and started towards the outskirts of the town. I turned to Moonlight suddenly, feeling extremely panicked after a realization that nearly floored me. When she saw my face she looked around quickly for the threat, wondering what had me so panicked. I looked at her with a one thousand mile stare, appearing to stare through her, at something far in the distance. "Beef Jerky and Bacon," I said, sounding dead, "These forms can't consume meat. I can't make beef jerky or bacon... Why?! IN THE NAME OF LUPUS' LARGE LUCKY LIPS, WHY?!?" I yelled the last part to the heavens and dropped heavily to my rump. Moonlight just stared at me with a confused expression before bursting out laughing her tail off. "That's... that's what has you so distraught?! Food?" That's as far as she got before breaking down into convulsions of laughter. A voice suddenly sounded above us. "Hey guys!" Looking up to confirm the voice, I saw Rainbow Dash hovering overhead looking somewhat confused. "Who's Lupus and why do they have lucky lips?" "I'm assuming," Twilight’s voice came up the hill, followed by Twilight and Fluttershy, both following a small bird, "that he is a being of some importance, and that was an expletive similar to you saying 'sweet Celestia.” I have no idea where this being originates from though." "Hey Hurricane," Moonlight started, "it sounds like we're back with Firefang!" The sarcasm was stunning. Before anyone could respond, I jumped into the conversation. "Can I ask why you three are up here?" "Flutters here said that, for two days in a row, her animal friends have been seeing strange lights, and this one here," Rainbow said, motioning to the bird that had alighted on Fluttershy when Twilight and Fluttershy had made it to us, "apparently lives in the clearing it happened in. Would you guys happen to know anything about that?" I shared a quick look with Moonlight, something that didn't go unnoticed by the other three. "What would you know about funny lights in the Everfree," Dash asked suspiciously. "Um... Mister Finch is saying that ...um... its Mister Hurricane that made the lights, but… but that Mister Hurricane isn't a... pony...." Fluttershy seemed to trail off at the end after realizing something. I looked around to see Rainbow ready to attack, and Twilight's horn glowing. 'This is bad,' I thought, 'I can't quick cast well enough to get out of this.' At that point Twilight cast something that hit me in a much more focussed manner than the other spell she had used. My metamorphosis spell only just held, and I could tell that she was only using about half, maybe two thirds, of the power she could channel. That was staggering, considering my master had once told me that I had the most raw power of any Shaman in the last three centuries, and here was this little pony, nearly destroying my spell, while holding back! Now I was scared. And at exactly that moment, though my pony change held, an illusion I'd been holding in place since a little after my outcasting dropped. Everyone, Moonlight included, stared at the brand over my left eye. It was a triangle with an inscribed circle, and within the circle was a lightning bolt. The mark of the Killer, given to me the one and only time I've ever lost control. "What... is that?" Asked a dumbfounded Rainbow. Twilight looked halfway between confused at the symbol and horrified at the branding, while Fluttershy just looked horrified, and Moonlight looked saddened, as she was the only one that knew what the mark meant, though not the reason I received it. "That," I snarled, glaring, "is the an Alpha Mark, given to outcasts, this Mark can only be given by a Council Alpha and means I will never be accepted back home. Goodbye." With that I turned and started off, realizing too late that I probably said too much. 'Every time,' I thought, 'Every time I think I might be able to manage a few friends, I lose it. I've kept this Mark hidden for five Luna damned years!' I sped to a canter, then a gallop, then a full out sprint. Just wanting to get away. Just needing to run, my cheerful shield starting to fall again. I ran and ran starting to go up to a road. towards a distant mountain, just going, starting to subconsciously dip into my power, something I'm normally so careful never to do, as I can't cast on the fly. I started going faster and faster, running, the chaos flowing. I saw a train in the distance rapidly approaching, and as I travelled faster, I became closer to the chaos, and began to here through any active spells I had, which, if not done under meditation, can lose the wielder to the magic. I wasn't under meditation, but I didn't care. Suddenly, I lost myself to the spell. Falling unconscious and falling... falling... falling.... Moonlight stared at Hurricane's retreating form retreating form, already a dot in the distance, saddened at his loss of control. Why now, of all the times to lose control, why now. Lupus almighty, please bring him back. I don't want to lose him again. She looked to the mares, whose looks demanded an explanation of Moonlight. "Can we at least talk somewhere private?" she asked, resigned to the fact there was no getting around the fact that Hurricane's behavior needed explanation. "We'll talk in the library," Twilight said, looking pissed. For all Moonlight knew chaos could easily be forbidden magic in this land. The mares and Moonlight, still in pony form, all walked to the library in silence. Once inside Twilight cast some kind of spell, explaining that now no one could hear their conversation. "Now what was that, and why did Storm run," asked a miffed Rainbow Dash. "He ran because someone destroyed a mental ward." Moonlight started before turning to Twilight and snarling out, "hasn't anyone ever taught you you never mess with another's spells? I'm about the farthest thing from a Lupus damned Shaman and I know that. You’re lucky it didn't backlash and kill you! Instead, anything he does will be on you. I wash my hands of this and I'm going to find him. Don't try and stop me." When Moonlight turned to leave Rainbow dropped in front of her. She snarled again, and started the trigger she knew Hurricane put in any consented spell he cast on a non-user. "May I of the spell be released The disguise of form be ceased and I be Moonlight Runner again" There was a flash of bright white light, and Hurricane lost the connection. Snapping back into my body was a painful experience. I rolled over and realized that it had been a while since I lost the connection. The sun was setting and I heard the sound of an argument taking place. It seemed to stop when I groaned, my body protesting at the massive amount of magic I put it through, along with the physical exertion. Instantly Moonlight was over me, out of disguise. "Why did you drop it?" I asked her, referring to the fact it was a coyote standing over me, not a pony. "Wait! You knew about that!?" Rainbow's voice came from the direction of the previous argument. "Yes," I started, seeing no point in hiding the fact of what we were anymore, "it's my spell-work. The rhyme she used was a trigger to drop the disguise without a Shaman's help. I'm a Shaman, and Luna's large lungs, my head hurts!" "Found her!" Another voice cut into our conversation, that of Twilight Sparkle, who ran over to Rainbow, followed by AJ, Fluttershy, Rarity,Pinkie and Spike. Moonlight dropped back, growling at the sight of Spike. Twilight was the only one that came forward. Looking between me and Moonlight. "Are you alright?" she asked standing over me. "I'm not to bad. My head hurts like Lupus used it as a fight ring, but I should be fine." "Oh dear, I have some herbs that'll help with a headache," Fluttershy exclaimed, or what passed for an exclamation for her, suddenly losing all fear and approaching quickly. I got up slowly, feeling extremely stiff. "I feel like I was hit by a train. Again." The last word was directed a Rainbow. "Well, you ran just about the entire way to Canterlot. I'm not surprised. The train tracks are just to our north out of sight though, So you can't have been hit. Canterlot itself is only another hours walk north though, so we should go there and just stay in the castle tonight." Twilight suggested this while the sun was just dipping out of sight. "I'm not even going to ask. Just as long as its warm and soft, I'll sleep on anything. And before I forget, do you six want me to remove my disguise, or give Moonlight a new one. I may be physically exhausted, but that spell, when bound to a host, rather than the circle itself, uses next to no energy from me." "New disguise" "No disguise" Both were said at the same time, The former by Twilight and Fluttershy, the latter by Applejack and Rainbow. They all explained their reasoning: Fluttershy was scared of the carnivorous coyote forms, no surprise to anyone, Applejack hated the dishonesty of the disguises, Rainbow thought Moonlights form was "bad flank" and figured I would be just as awesome, and Twilight reasoned that it would be a bad idea to scare the locals with our undisguised coyote forms. The other two conceded, AJ with a grumble and Rainbow looking slightly disappointed. After drawing a new spell circle, being beyond attentive and careful, despite my train wreck feeling, I had Moonlight step in and began, "To waters change I commend her physical being Another native, may others be seeing And with this morph their abilities too while she remains her, magic and true" With a flash of light that made all of us wince and me to pray to Lupus, Luna, and any other divine being that it wouldn't attract the Defenders, or whatever this lands equivalent was. What stepped out of the circle made me have to hold back any laughter, as Moonlight would kill me if I laughed. She still had her coat colour, that lovely shimmering grey, but her main was a bright hot pink, along with her tail, no wings or horn, while her butt mark—I should probably ask what those are called—was a full moon, just begging me to call her Mooner, and her eyes were still a stormy grey, and her glare was daring me to say anything about her appearance. I couldn't help it, the laughter flooded over, and I was laughing through the stiffness and physical pain I was still feeling. She continued to glare at me, while everyone else started to chuckle at my reaction, even the timid Fluttershy let out a little giggle. Eventually Moonlight relented and laughed with the rest of us. After an indeterminate amount of time, we, or more specifically, I composed myself enough that we could move on, and we started following Twilight in the direction of Canterlot.
Chapter 4Walking through Canterlot was a trying experience. It was only once we reached the city limits that I realized I'd forgotten to re-illusion my Mark. I was getting weird stares from the ponies in the street. At least, the ones that had there eyes forward. The ones with their noses in the air were just begging for a tell off from one of the dominants, especially since the so called nobles lost their Alphaship long ago. At least, if that was how it worked here. I was a little lost as this was nothing like any pack, or even the Capital, the one city in Lycana. We made it to the castle about a half hour after we entered the city and went around to a private door, as, according to Twilight, the front gates would be closed for another hour before the Night Court started. Why a Day Court and a Night Court were needed was beyond me. The Defenders surprisingly just let Twilight pass, no questions asked beyond a quick submission to that same disturbingly chaotic spell Twilight used during my time stop stunt, which I'm surprised she hadn't interrogated me about yet. That and my stupid comment on my Journey. Once we were inside, Twilight turned to us and said, "We should probably go and check in with the Princesses. Its only eight so they should be in the dining hall for dinner." We followed her to the dining room and upon entry I saw the strangest sight I have ever had the misfortune of seeing. At the end of the table, on either side of the head, were ponies with both wings and a horn. The one on the right was white with a pastel mane in constant motion. She was in gold regalia and had a grin that spoke of a bet that was won, and no matter the retribution, the reward was worth it. Across the table from her was a dark blue pony with a flowing mane the colour of the cosmos and black regalia and... my jaw dropped at the horrific sight. I looked around at everyone else's reactions Moonlight, Pinkie, and Rainbow were rolling on the ground laughing while everyone else shared my stunned to silence reaction. The dark blue pony was in the pooffiest, to the point I swear they were inflated, pantaloons I have ever laid eyes on. They were a pink that hurt to look at with lavender poka-dots a similar colour to Twilights coat. My Chaos magic took that moment to inform me that this was Luna, Goddess of the Moon, The Great Lunar Being, Saviour of the Lycans in her defeat of Discord through unknown means, and she was a pony. In pantaloons. Telling me I have at least three embarrassing stories I owe Moonlight, Firefang, and my Master, as well as a couple of skeletons in my past I owe Moonlight. I, Hurricane Eye, the Chaos Storm, bearer of the Mark of the Killer and the Journeyman Shaman have seen the Goddess in pants. As a pony. The Goddess of the Lycans was a pony. This was going to take a while to sink in. Twilight was the first one to regain her voice, Moonlight and Rainbow still immobilized by laughter, Pinkie just sporting a grin that defied basic biology, Rarity now appeared to be trying to unsee the outfit and Fluttershy appeared to be broken, "Princess Celestia, may I ask why Princess Luna is in that outfit?" "She lost a bet with me and must do everything not within the public eye in a set of magically inflated pantaloons of a garish colour scheme." "What was the bet?' Applejack asked, and, as the rest of us also seemed to have regained our composure, with the exception of the still broken Fluttershy, we all leaned in to hear. "The bet was that this would be the month that we wouldn't receive a panic letter from Spike over something in Ponyville." At this Twilight turned red and ducked her head slightly. "But," Rainbow started, still reigning in laughter, "It's only the second." "We made the bet yesterday," Luna grumbled. I was still in shock and looking over at Moonlight, I saw she had caught when Twilight had said Luna's name, and was giving me a grin that told me she also knew I owed her some stories. This was the weirdest day I had had yet, and I had only just completed the first leg of my journey. However, being in the presence of the Princesses, the other shoe had to drop. "Who are these two?" Celestia asked looking at me and Moonlight. "They are more of those odd ponies. They show up at least once a year, and when they see me their brains seem to break. I don't understand why," Luna responded to Celestia's question, surprising me in seeing past my shock at her attire, into my shock at her species. "What was the last one to do this?" Celestia asked, turning to her sister. Luna's comment had removed any and all doubt that my magic was messing with me, and this was the honest to Lupus Luna. As soon as I realized that, I bowed deeply, head to the ground, neck to the side, throat at an angle, exactly as an Omega would bow to a Council Alpha. Upon seeing this Moonlight followed my lead. Luna didn't bat an eye at Moonlight and my display. It seemed she really did see a lot of the Shamans, although I now wondered why the Masters never warned their apprentices about this. Though I guess they could say it's all about the journey. "The last one," Luna said, answering the now gaping Celestia, "was just about ten months ago. A pegasus by the name of Midnight Fang, with a unicorn named Lightning Storm." 'Well, I finally have species names, I just don't know which type of pony goes to which name.' The thought running through my head as Celestia turns towards us and I feel a tiny tendril of magic hit my illusion, becoming Backlash, nowhere near enough to kill or even hurt the caster, but enough to tell them whatever they were after. Probably deducing that I was within an illusion, or that it was chaos magic. After the tendril, Celestia's eyes went from the caring, baffled Princess, to cold, dangerous warrior. I was suddenly very nervous, and that was before she spoke, her voice previously warm and caring, now colder than the peak of Howling Mountain in the middle of winter. "Who and what are you?" Out of fear I pulled another risky spell, one my master said was a Chant Cast that truly powerful Shamans could use without too much risk. An uncontrolled teleport that's only destination was away, and the last time I pulled this is another story I owe Moonlight after seeing the Goddess in pants. "With a mariochy band distraction, The Lycans escape with a teleportation compaction." As I said the chant, I felt another's magic latch themselves to mine, and the user was suddenly in physical contact with another, meaning I suddenly had two extra tag alongs I wasn't expecting. At least I knew I had more than enough power to get pretty much anywhere within a couple hundred kilometres. As we shrinking into nothing, the way the teleport works, I saw the smoke from the distraction clear and I got my second look at what a mariochy band was, beyond knowing what the word was, as my master refused tell me what one was. All the ponies in the room were in brightly coloured ponchos, with a bunch of strange instruments in front of them which I still didn't get around to seeing properly as I was to distracted by everyone having a moustache of epic proportions. We then disappeared with a 'pop.' ~*~*~ When we came out of the teleportation the first thing I thought was, 'This happens way too often.' I was, for the fourth time in my life, a female. I looked around at everyone, seeing who tagged along on the spell. While trying to figure out what happened. Around me was Twilight, Moonlight and... myself! I looked down at my own body and saw I had a cyan coat and rainbow tail. Twilight and Moonlight were both glaring at my body, which I suddenly noticed had stormy grey eyes, rather than my ice blue peepers. Moonlight was glaring at me, as she knew this side effect to multi-being spells if anything messes with them in the middle of casting. I had once switched Firefang, Moonlight and myself around in bodies. I had ended up masquerading as Moonlight. It was another one of those times my Master told my she wouldn't change me back unless I couldn't after a fortnights effort. We spent a week in the archives looking for the counter. Thankfully the magic is attached to the spirit, not the body. Looking for the counter I also found out some other useful information, such as the fact the Griffon Empire was helped to be founded by a pegasus named Streak. Now I just needed to find out what a griffon and a pegasus were and I'd understand that little tidbit. "I'm actually Hurricane," I said in Rainbow's voice. The glaring turned to me and I saw that Moonlight's body had lavender eyes, making that Twilight, which meant Rainbow was in Twilights body. She was now horny! I instantly recognized these thoughts as every sing Luna damned TIME! I was turned into a female, I was always, always in heat. I glared at Dash, who was smirking at me, fully aware of her previous condition. I really need to start carrying a scroll with the body switchback spell. I do not need these thoughts going through my head! Especially not about Moonlight! After hearing a loud pomf I do the first thing that comes to my head to get cool, I juno into the full ditch on the side of the road. My head exits the water just in time to hear Moonlight ask Dash 'the question,' "Are you in heat?" "Yes, yes I am," Dash answered her still smirking smugly. "Thats four out of four times now," Moonlight states smugly, turning to look at me. Glaring at... I guess she was a him when she's in my body, I deliberately turned to Twilight, and asked, while trying very hard to keep from admiring Moonlight's body, "Where are we?" "You mean you don't know where you teleported us to?!" "I should probably eventually give you an explanation of my magic, but in this case suffice to say I'm too powerful to accurately teleport." "Ignoring the fact that goes against just about every rule of magic there is, there is a sign over there," Twilight said, pointing to a large crossroads a few minutes to the south. After reaching it, I saw the distances and wondered how much of Twilight's own magic made it into my spell. Chaos and Order magic might be fundamentally different, but to a spell, power is power. I know even using every once of power I have I could normally only reach about three-quarters of this distance, and the spell consumed all the power I'd allotted it, which would bring us about a two weeks from Canterlot. The distance to Canterlot from here, according to the sign, was six weeks. And Rainbow, currently inhabiting Twilights body, didn't even look tired! Despite magic casting being tied to the spirit, meaning I could still cast, despite currently inhabiting Rainbow's heat ridden body, the physical body still took all the strain, even with a body switch. Four days to our south was Dryhoof and the border of the Great Southern Rainforest, and a week to the east was Stalliongrad. To our west was a massive forest that, if I had to guess, bordered this entire countries western border. The Chaos magic was pulling me south towards, and probably beyond, Dryhoof. I looked to my three companions, before saying, "What do you guys want to do? We can go forward to the next destination and hope for a swapback there or we can go to Lycana, get the spell that'll swap us back and then come back to where ever here is." I looked at Twilight's and Rainbow's confused looks before realizing I never actually explained a thing about myself, my home or my magic before dragging them on this messed up journey. Or did they drag themselves into it? Into... I quickly shook my head again before that thought went any farther, I was a MALE dammit! Moonlight took the conversation over as she realized exactly how indisposed I was, despite sitting in a ditch full of freezing water. "How about we do this question for question? I know you have them and, frankly, me and Storm have been flying blind in this country." "Sure!" "...okay." It sounded really weird to hear Moonlights voice so hesitant, even if I knew Moonlight was Twilight. That and it was really weird looking at my own body not using a mirror. "First question, what is this country we landed in?" "Equestria, ruled the two immortal princesses, Celestia and Luna. My turn, what is Lycana?" "The country Hurricane and I hail from. About three weeks run to the west and home of the Wolves and the Coyotes, as well as the First Reign Archives." I was a little surprised at her mention of the archives, but then, she may have been trying to distract Twilight, and that was probably the only sure way from what little of her we'd seen. "Now for my question, what in the name of the Great Pack type of magic do you have that can mess with, break or latch onto Hurricane's strongest spell's, That shouldn't work!" "I study magic a lot and I've got a fair sized magic reserve-" "That's putting it lightly," I butt in. At this Moonlight and Dash looked at me curiously, while Twilight looked at me sheepishly. I continued after the silence dragged on for five seconds with, "You've got at least half your power behind a ward so you can't draw on it, making you more powerful than me, and our kind of power is a once a millennium occurrence." Wasn't this in one of the Archive books Firefang showed you?" Moonlight asked. At this I stated, "The ten most powerful beings in the First Reign boundaries. Discord, Celestia, Luna, Orion Hunter (Famous Coyote), Starswirl the Bearded (Not sure who that is), Twilight Sparkle (You), Hurricane Eye (Me), Ocean Tide, Green Grove (More unsures), and Forest Stalker (An insane Coyote). You also use Order magic, something that should be impossible." "Order?" Twilight asked, "What do mean, I just use regular magic. My next question, though, is what are the First Reign Archives?" "The Archives," I explained, finally getting somewhat over the initial shock of being in heat, again, "are, at the same time, Discord's most benevolent and malevolent act. Can we talk about this on the road, I've finally cooled off, so do you want to continue the journey, or go to Lycana?" "Continue." Twilight and Moonlight said in chorus. "Why can't we talk to the Princesses?" Rainbow asked. "You don't mix Chaos and Order magic. Ever. So unless you find a benevolent Discord or the wolf God Lupus, it's either go back to my home, or continue and hope to find the swapback spell on the journey." "Fine, we'll continue and hope for the best." "Alright, off we go," I said with enthusiasm, before leading everyone south. A/N: The chapter was starting to get long so I split it, the exposition on Lycana and headcanon Equestria will continue next chapter.
Prologue I stared at my master in disbelief. "You’re saying the spirit journey will take a few years?" "I may not be able to talk about it, but it is almost certain to take a while. You may bring one companion and once you return..." My master said, trailing off as she waited for me to finish the sentence. "I may only talk about it with you, my companion, or a Council Shaman. Like they'd ever see me. I'm not import—" "Stop. You are important, and you'll go on to do great things. Every Shaman takes a spirit journey. I'm not sending you away, and your companion has already volunteered if you'll have her." "It's Mooner, isn't it." "You know, the Alpha Council won't tell me why you call her that, she won't tell me, and I respect you too much to order you to tell me. I ask again, as your friend and mentor; what is with that name?" "I'll tell you if I ever see Luna in bright pink pantaloons with purple polka-dots." I said, looking over at the small statue of the two lupine deities, the small coyote of the moon, and the large wolf and creator of canine kind. "Mark my word, you'll be telling me when you get back." "Maybe. So, just to confirm..." I started "Follow the Magic. It'll bring you to where you need to go, and don't forget to stop along the way..." She continued, trailing off. "As its not about the destination, but the journey to it," I finished my Master's wisdom with a grin. "Alright you got it, now go forth and enjoy your adventure." She shooed me away as I took one last look around the cottage I'd called home for the past decade of my apprenticeship as a Shaman, looking at the jars of ingredients, the caldron, the paintings that I made to teach me focus still hung on the walls, alongside soul masks and icons of Luna and Lupus. Heading outside I took one last look around the clearing; containing the cook pit, a sparring and fight ring, and a twelve and a half foot charred circle where I'd failed my first fire spell; and finally at my best friend, Moonlight Runner, the one who stuck by me, even after the accident that had me outcasted. I looked at her and nodded with a smile, before motioning for her to follow me. We both took off, heading straight east, following the chaos magic out of Lycana and into the great unknown.
