Chapters Chapter 1: Bad first impression
Chapter 1: Bad first impression
It was an unusual day for Tsukune, they had just faced down Alucard, so school didn't seem all that normal anymore, he was still a little unsure of his new power, and to make things worse a new student was in his class. A new student wouldn't usually bother him, but this one was bigger than the other students, was silent all the time, and Kokoa had fallen for him, that set off a few alarms. But he went his mostly usual schedule, had to split a few arguments over him, and witnessed a fight between first years, nothing really bothered him until it was time for the club meeting, that is when things all went wrong, he walked in and noticed someone on the ceiling.
"What the!" Tsukune jumped back, " How are you doing that?!"
The person on the ceiling looked down at him, that new student, he was sitting cross legged on the ceiling, mediating perhaps? Everyone else followed his gaze, they then freaked out too, after a moment they all calmed down and stared at him.
"Um what are you doing?" Moka asked, "If you don't mind me asking."
"Yah! What's the big idea?" Kurumu snapped, "You trying to scare us?!"
The person jumped from the ceiling and landed gracefully on the ground, he then made a few hand gestures they didn't understand, they looked at each other, confused.
"We can't understand what you mean," Mizore quietly commented.
He sighed and pointed to his neck, pulling his shirt down a little, a scar was clearly seen right on his neck, near the bottom. Tsukune noticed that his hair was a dark brown, and his eyes looked like a deep green forest, while he had some sort of gray mark on his hands and the sides of his face, probably all over his body.
"You can't talk?" Tsukune guessed, he got a nod from the new guy.
"Then how do you communicate?" Yukari asked.
He wrote something in the air, it soon appeared in front of them in bright blue text, 'Magic is the only way I can, and my name is Paradox.'
"It's good to meet you mister Paradox." Moka cheerfully spouted.
'Likewise,' Paradox wrote.
"So, what kind of monster are you?" Kurumu asked, after which Mizore elbowed her in the ribs, hard, "Ow! I was just asking!"
"You know the rules Kurumu!" Yukari said, "No telling what kind of monster you are! Unless he wants to."
'Only if I get names,' he smiled.
"Oh, right sorry," Tsukune rubbed the back of his neck, "I am Tsukune, this is Moka, that is Kurumu, she is Mizore, and that is Yukari."
'Cute little group,' he wrote, 'Which is your girl?'
"That would be me!" Kurumu said proudly.
"No he's mine!" Moka yelled.
"Tsukune is mine." Mizore said.
"No he belongs to me!" Yukari yelled from behind them, they all stopped and stared at her, she shrunk slightly.
'This seems to be a problem,' Paradox wrote, 'Have you not chosen Tsukune?'
"Not exactly, yet," Tsukune admitted softly.
'So you drag it out?' He questioned, 'Is it not better to choose then have them fight?'
"Yeah I suppose, I mean I do have something special wi-" Tsukune was interrupted with the door being flung open, Kokoa walked in, she was looking happy, too happy.
"Hey!" Kokoa waved at them all, smiling still, it was creepy.
"Oh hey Kokoa, how are you?" Tsukune inched away.
"Just wonderful," Kokoa sighed happily.
"Um what are you doing here?" Moka asked.
"Just enjoying the view," Kokoa said absent minded.
'Is she ok?' Paradox whrote, that earned him a soft sigh from Kokoa.
"She's not usually like this," Moka said.
'So I gathered,' He motioned quickly, 'But that is not the problem I worry over now.'
"What?" Tsukune looked confused, "What do you mean?"
'There is a bigger problem present,' he wrote, ' I wish to know how far you would go to protect them.'
Everyone knew what he was talking about, they glanced at each other nervously, this was a decision Tsukune had stalled for longer than any would like. All the girls (except Kokoa) stared at Tsukune, who gulped nervously, this was the moment he dreaded for a long time, "Well you see, I just want t-"
Paradox silenced him by grabbing his lips, then wrote, 'I can see only one way to solve this problem.'
"How?" All the girls asked in unison, even Kokoa.
'To test all your friendships,' He wrote, 'Who is most loyal, most kind, the most generous, the most honest, the best sense of humor, and the best with their ability.'
Everyone in the room looked around confused, after they had some some silent staring they looked back at him, "How are we going to do that?" Kurumu asked.
"Yeah it's not like we have some kind of personality detector." Yukari said.
'I had a better idea in mind,' He wrote while smirking, not good, ' This was supposed to be part of a later solution, but you need it.'
"What is it?" Mizore asked quietly, with a hint of curiosity.
'You will wake away from home,' He pionted his hand at them and spread his fingers menacingly while he wrote one last thing, 'Any last requests?'
"Yeah, what the hell are you doing?!" Tsukune, watching Paradox' hand charge with blue energy.
"I'm recruiting early," He spoke, then proceeded to hit them with some sort of blue energy wave, they all lost consciousness.
~~~
~~~
Princess Celestia was out enjoying Canterlot with her faithful student Twilight Sparkle and her friends, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie pie, all of whom were talking and laughing with her, like friends. She much enjoyed herself in the company of all these friends, especially since she was the ruler of a nation, and that was very stressful work, but for now she enjoyed the Festivities of the Summer Sun Celebration in ponyville.
"And then i'm like, 'Pudding are you crazy!?" Pinkie finished, they all laughed.
Rainbow Dash suddenly stopped and turned her head, " Be right back guys," She flew off, and then flew back, a squirrel's tail sticking out of her mouth, "Mmm, dish is good!"
"Rainbow, y'all do know they sell squirrel on a stick right?" Applejack said, a bit annoyed at her friend's noisy chewing, a trickle of blood ran down her chin.
Rainbow swallowed the rest, "Yeah, but I love it fresh."
"That wasn't very nice," Fluttershy spoke up, " Did you ask the squirrel if he wanted to be eaten?"
"Here we go again," Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Fluttershy darling," Rarity chimed in, "We talked about this, they're just food, and even if Rainbows method is so, uncouth, by law we don't need permission to hunt prey."
"But I find it so," Fluttershy hesitated, "evil."
"Yeah?! Well look at you!" Rainbow pointed her hoof, " All you do is eat vegetables! And look how well you fly!"
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight snapped, "That is uncalled for!"
"It's true!" Rainbow said
"You apologize! Rainbow mcmeaniepants!" Pinkie hovered a second.
"Bu-" Rainbow was cutoff.
"Y'all best apologize dash," Applejack tilted her hat, "Or ah'll make y'all."
"Ok," She said defeated, " I'm sorry I called you a weak flier, and ate a squirrel in front of you, can you forgive me?"
"Of course," Fluttershy said smiling, "What is a friend if not forgiving? Even though I don't like seeing animals eaten, I shouldn't let other's ways bug me, and I will always know to love everypony, no matter what."
They shared a group hug, then Celestia spoke up, "It looks like an important lesson was learned here, I'm truly glad you all continually learn from one another and care."
"So what game we gonna play?" Rainbow asked.
"Well I was thinking we could-to the tug-of-war...." Twilight trailed off, she was watching what the others had dismissed as fireworks, but in fact there was an odd blue vortex, swirling violently. Suddenly it spit out two creatures, both landed with a hard thump, making the Princess and six friends turn in shock and run toward it as the vortex disappeared.
Once they made it over, the two creatures began to wake up, the Princess noticed the features of these odd things, one was obviously male, as it made a groaning noise in a deeper voice, he had a brown mane with a bit of white, while his eyes were a dark chocolate brown. The other one seemed to be female, making higher pitched sounds, she had a light purple mane, and very capturing frost blue eyes, her skin seemed to be a very beautiful pale color, they both screamed when they saw that they were surrounded by ponies.
"Dibs on the female!" Rainbow yelled, licking her lips.
~~~
~~~
Gilda walked through the halls of the palace, center of the Griffon Empire, up to the counsel room, where her fate would be decided by the Counsel of the beak, and King Frost Talon himself, she knew this because she received a letter from the King. Nothing but good had come her way ever since she split it with that freak Rainbow, she had earned the rank of commander in the Griffon special strike force, earned quite the amount of money, and got the chance to sock it to an old ex, things were good.
She came to the chamber door, the two guards blocked the door, "Halt," one said.
"Listen guard, I have a meeting right about now and you two are keeping me from it, want me to discharge you, cause I am a commander?!" she hissed in one's face.
"Apologies sir, please continue," The other stated as they moved aside.
Gilda opened the door, she was greeted with smiling faces, not a good sign, "Commander Gilda, please have a seat."
"Sir," She sat in the chair near the left, close to some Counsel members.
"Do you know why we called you here commander?" A Counsel member asked.
"My fate is on the line sir?" Gilda partially asked.
"Hehe some what." The King chuckled, "Commander are you aware of the foolish moves made recently against us by the weak pony princess?"
"Yes sir I am," She was making sure to show respect.
"These actions, all to gain hunting grounds for themselves," King Frost Talon stood up, "Their pony forces are formidable, and now, more then ever, we need strong capable leaders, like you."
This caught Gilda off guard, "Sir?"
"Yes Commander," He paused, "We would like you to be a General, and not just any, but grand General."
"Sir, am I the most reasonable choice? Gilda asked.
"You question the King!?" A Counsel member spat at her.
"Silence!" The King ordered back, " But yes Gilda, you have a perfect mission success rate, and your training score is only matched by myself."
"It would be an honor my King." Gilda stood and bowed, "I thank you my king, and counsel."
"You may leave," A Counsel member said.
Gilda turned and walked out, she was having the best day of her life, she was going to head back to her quarters to get her weapon, then she would be off to the bar for a drink.
It was a boring walk back to her quarters, she walked in and strapped her crossbow on, then fitted her belt on, which contained many knives, then she turned to head off. But before she could make it out the door there was a low growl, making her pull some knives, she turned to see her attacker, she saw what was a blue vortex thing, and it was shaking like crazy, it then spat out an odd creature before disappearing.
"Who are you!?" She asked as it got up, as it was taking a step closer she recognized it, it jumped up and looked very pissed, she took notice that it was slightly taller than her, with light blue feathers on it's head, and very capturing purple eyes, then it yelled some thing, it's hands having expanded to large claws, with wings spouting out, and a tail.
"WHERE IS HE?!!!" It yelled,"I WILL TEAR THAT MISERABLE ASSHOLE APART!!"
Chapter 2: What hunt?
Tsukune woke after hitting something, he rubbed his head and groaned, face planting always hurt, then he remembered what happened. Hearing a soft moan from beside him he looked over, Mizore was sitting up, rubbing her head as well, he was about to ask if she was okay when she looked up and froze. He followed her stare and saw all manner of colorful horse surrounding them, they both screamed for a minute, then continued to survey the pony faces, suddenly a voice spoke up.
"Dibs on the female!" A cyan flying pony with rainbow hair announced, licking her lips.
"Hey no fair!" A pink pony was bouncing by her, "Fine but I get the male!"
"Darlings, no reason to argue over food," The white horned pony said, "Anyway, it looks like there is plenty to go around."
"Fine she can have the male," The rainbow pony said, " But i'm not sharing the female, she looks soooo delicious!"
Suddenly the rainbow pony flew right in Mizore's face, "If you start running i can make it look like you put up a fight," She whispered. That didn't sit too well with Mizore, the rainbow pony was a solid block of ice before anyone could blink, many gasps came from around them, even some whispering, then a purple horned pony stepped forward and levitated her frozen friend back, wait levitated?
The purple pony then used some kind of magic to put up a force field around them, he tested it, he received a massive shock from it, he turned to Mizore, she was staring down at the ground.
"You okay there Mizore," Tsukune grabbed her shoulder.
"Yeah i'll be alright," Mizore answered back.
"Okay, what's the matter," He asked.
"They, called us food," Mizore shivered.
"Horses that eat meat?" Tsukune shivered as well, "Scary."
"What are they talking about," Mizore looked at a small group that was whispering intensely.
Tsukune scanned the group of ponies, one, as he noticed, was larger than the rest, with flowing rainbow hair, and white fur, "Not sure."
The tall pony stepped forward, revealing her wings, along with her horn, then spoke, "What are you?"
"Um," Tsukune paused, "Who are you asking, me or her?"
"Are you not both the same," She asked.
"No," Short and sweet.
"Okay, what are you then," She pointed a hoof at him.
"Vampiric Demon," Tsukune had to sit and have that explained to him before.
"A Demon Vampire," She deadpanned.
"Yes," He said.
"And her," She pointed to Mizore.
"She is a snow woman," Tsukune answered.
"Oh," she was familiar with snow mares, this must be the same, she then turned and continued to whisper with the little group.
Tsukune was a little bugged, they were talking a like they were plotting the very slow death of them both, then he over heard the rainbow one raise her voice, "Why don't we just dig into both of them and fry up some delicious organs?"
Tsukune paled, nope, nope, nope, he was not becoming lunch, he looked over at Mizore, "Ready to go?"
Mizore nodded and backed away from him, she knew the exit method, all the ponies were not paying attention, but they would be. He stood up and stepped closer to the force field, pulled his arm back, and delivered a massive blow right to the shield, shattering it and sending magical feedback to the caster.
"Come on!" Tsukune grabbed Mizore's hand and they ran, cutting through the crowd.
"Hey!" They heard from the rainbow one behind them.
"Stop right there!" The tall pony yelled, then teleported in front of Tsukune, making him leap over her while Mizore slid under her, confusing her all the same. Tsukune had managed to get through most of this little carnival thing, nobody was following him as far as he knew, then he stopped mid-run, the pony at the 'Cider cellar' began to look very good, almost mouthwatering, but that past and he was running again.
"What happened?" Mizore asked him, jumping a startled pegasus, "You looked off for a minute."
"It's nothing," Tsukune reasoned to her, and himself.
"Hurry!" They heard from behind them, the rainbow one was gaining.
Before the rainbow pony caught up they slid under a large red stallion, making the rainbow pony plow right into him, letting out a loud 'oof', they continued to run past shocked ponies and screaming mares, they ran toward the thick forest ahead.
"Wait!" They heard a voice call after them, "I didn't even get to throw you a party!"
~~~
~~~
Celestia watched as the two creatures ran into the Everfree Forest, she stood next to her student and worried herself over some disturbing memories. She knew the appearance of these two odd creatures had meant something she didn't want to think about, but that would mean she was ignoring the fact tha- "Princess, are you alright?" Twilight interrupted her thoughts, she looked down at her, her student wore a worried expression.
"Worry not my faithful student," Celestia soothed her mind, "But there is something I must show you."
"What, what is it," Twilight was worried again, not only about these creatures, or her now headache, but the worry she heard in her mentors voice.
"Bring the other Elements of Harmony," Celestia turned and beckoned her guard, "Bring more carriages down and make sure the Elements make it to the castle please."
"Right away my princess," the guard bowed, he then turned, "You there, call for more carriages."
"What's the big surprise?!" Pinkie bubbled.
"This is something we best discuss in private my little ponies," Celestia answered.
"Pardon me princess," Rarity called, " But I am a little worried that those, uncouth, ill fashioned, monsters are no private matter."
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash chimed in, " Nothing can move that fast!"
"Princess," Applejack spoke up, " I respect that ya'll want ta take care o us, but why don't we Elements just go chase down them monsters and turn them to stone?"
"That is sound logic," Twilight agreed, "But what if they turn out to be friendly?"
"Aw don't worry," Rainbow said, "It would be like storing food, no harm done."
"But why would we eat them?" Fluttershy spoke, surprisingly loud, "What if... What if they turn out be poisonous?"
"We could just boil the poison right out," Rainbow scowled, "You need to stop arguing for the food Fluttershy!"
"Be calm," Celestia said in a melodic voice, "This has to do less with those creatures then you may think."
"Princess, the carriages have arrived," A guard spoke from behind her.
"Thank you Brick hoof," Celestia led the Elements to the carriages.
===
The flight over was very uneventful, only Rainbow was nearly any entertainment to the princess, things were quiet enough to think, making the princess think over many scary details from her past.
As soon as they landed near the castle garden Celestia called them over to her, "Now stay close my little ponies, the place we will go is not meant for any others except a princess."
"Yes princess," Twilight responded with a gulp.
The Elements stuck close to her and watched their surroundings, they had entered the Castle Garden, passing decorative statues and the pillar where Discord had been, then without warning the princess stomped her hoof, shaking the earth, the ground around the pillar began to creak and move, lowering into a rounded stairway. Descending one by one they watched as the torches on the wall were lighting up as the princess walked by, they had walked for about a minute before they came into a round room, statues lining the wall of the room.
"Welcome little ones, to the One room," Celestia had a grim look.
"One room princess?" Twilight asked.
"This is where we store the most dangerous of enemies," Celestia took a step forward, " Solid S."
A statue slid forward, stopping before Celestia, "This is why I wanted to talk with you girls," she stepped from in front of the statue, making the Elements gasp.
"But princess! How?!" Twilight looked over at her mentor's grim face.
~~
~~
"So this is the Griffon Empire," Kurumu was sitting with Gilda in her room, "And everyone is a Griffon?"
"Mostly, there are other species here," Gilda replied, "But most are Griffons."
"So I got sucked into a world of myth," Kurumu growled, "And now i'm the only one like me!?"
"Never said that," Gilda threw up her claws in defense.
"What?" Kurumu looked surprised.
"Come with me," Gilda got up and headed for the door.
"Alright, but this better not be a trap," Kurumu warned.
"Wouldn't think of it," Gilda walked out, she still had her weapons strapped on.
Following Gilda she noticed that many griffons were casting odd looks their way, she contained her anger toward the unwelcome staring. After many minutes of silent walking Gilda halted, in front of them was an old broken building, windows were sealed with metal, and the door had a barricade up front, singing drifted from inside.
"Hey!" Gilda called, " Get out here and come meet someone!"
Soon a figure similar to Kurumu's walked out, wearing armor and humming a tune, Kurumu gasped.
"You!" Kurumu extended her claws.
"Hey, it's you!" Kokoa ran to her for a hug.
Chapter 3: The timing is right
"What are you doing here?!" Kurumu extended her claws.
"Giving you a hug!" Kokoa pulled Kurumu in for a hug.
"No! I mean what happened to you?!" Kurumu fought to free herself, to no avail.
"Oh, that," Kokoa released her death grip, "You may want to sit down."
"Sure," Gilda promptly sat, followed by a hesitant Kurumu.
"So?" Kurumu asked.
"Well it's been a while since I last saw a someone even close to me," Kokoa sighed.
"So it's been awhile, why should I care?" Kurumu folded her arms.
"No I mean it's been so long since I last saw any of you," Kokoa waved her arms, "Kinda forgot you all hated me."
"Why do you think they hate you," Gilda asked.
"Back on our home world, I did things and said stuff," Kokoa took a breath, "They were both childish and stupid."
"Wouldn't they just forgive you?" Gilda asked, "I mean, that's what you do right?"
"Why should I forgive her?" Kurumu scoffed, "What she did was unforgivable!"
"What?! It's not my fault!" Kokoa took up a defensive pose.
"Whoa! Whoa! ", Gilda stopped them right there, "Now what exactly did you do?"
"Well, it happened after I had first arrived at Yokai," Kokoa paused, " I had finally caught up with my big sister, I charged her, I wanted a good fight, I picked up a desk and ran at her, but instead of hitting her, she was pushed out of the way by her friend, Tsukune Auno, and I hit him on the head."
"And I said I would never forgive a first year for touching him," Kurumu folded her arms and huffed.
"What's so special about this scone guy?" Gilda never understood love, even when she had it.
"Tskune, is the most kind, loyal, and happy person I ever met," Kurumu stated.
"Yeah, he was always so nice, even when I was a jerk to him," Kokoa slumped, her past always brought her spirits down.
"Hey, you went and atoned for those sins," Gilda patted Kokoa's shoulder, "Don't worry about the past."
"Atoned!?" Kurumu almost stood up, "You can't atone for the things you did!"
"She can and she did!" Gilda snapped.
"Hah whatever," Kurumu waved them off.
"I sure did miss you," Kokoa straightened up again, "Even if you didn't miss me."
"Wow, how long were you stuck here to start missing me?" Kurumu waited intently for the answer.
"I lived among the fine griffons for two years,"Kokoa smiled, "How else would I be such a high ranking officer?"
"Two years!?" Kurumu gasped.
"Yeah," Kokoa chuckled, "What a great two years."
"You got here two years ago?" Kurumu's jaw dropped.
"Yeah, went looking for you guys at some point," Kokoa kept smiling.
"But that's not possible I just got here!" Kurumu was freaking out.
"Well you must have known, I mean how can I grow and get a manecut, all while you talked to Gilda?" Kokoa pointed out.
"But how did you get here?" Kurumu immediately rephrased the question, "Like how did you end up here with the griffons?"
"Oh yeah, let me tell you," Kokoa began her tale.
===
Kokoa had been seized by a horrible nightmare, all over the events she had endured only hours ago, she was gliding through the world of the intangible, experiencing the good, the bad, and the ugly. She saw his face again, Paradox, what a name, he looked so kind and caring, but something about him put her on edge. 'Come on, I want to show you something,' He beckoned her closer, capturing her mind with his wonderful voice and handsome face, as she moved closer to him Kokoa pulled him into a hug, holding him as if he were her world, but something felt wrong. Ignoring her feeling she came in close, closing her eyes and pursing her lips, she felt him not inches away, but stopped when she felt a sharp plunge, her senses screamed for her to pull away. Kokoa again ignored her better judgement, opening her eyes to catch a glimpse at his warm loving gaze, but she saw hate and malice instead, he was grinning and chuckling, she pulled away from him, he held a knife covered in blood, who's blood? She looked down, her right side was cut open and bleeding profusely, she gasped as she tried to apply pressure, blood soaking her hands, her very being, a loud laugh filled her soul, she looked up to find his face right in hers', laughing at her injury, at her, at her naivete, she then collapsed, breathing heavily, she let out a bloodcurdling scream. 'No one will ever love you, they don't even like you!' Kokoa then fluttered her eyes open, sitting up and taking in her surroundings, before she got a good look she felt a sharp pain peirce her side, she checked and found the cut, but it was stitched up, had her dream been real? She was in a forest, surrounded by very dense trees, the foliage was unusually high and menacing, not to mention very unusual noises were coming from all around her. She went to call for the others but her voice was absent, she tried again, same results, she stood up on wobbly feet and turned a three sixty, searching for a way out, or even a path, before she could decipher any clear path she had to kneel down, her side was burning, she checked it again, it was bleeding the slightest bit, but she could manage, she was a vampire after all.
'Where am I?' Kokoa wondered, she stood up and wobbled toward a section of the forest that seemed to be a little thinner then the rest, wobbling a couple of times more she proceeded to go up hill without realizing, the trees were thinning a bit more, she stopped and caught her breath, she really needed to take care of her injury, she was looking down, panting up a storm when she noticed a gravel path, she had hope again.Coming up the very old path, Kokoa came across a small rock field with a large cave in the back, inside the darkness of the cave came what sounded like a loud moo, several others were heard as well, then came a stamping that grew louder and louder. Kokoa jumped into a battle stance, wincing at the pain that cut from her side, she knew she could handle whatever came, but being in the center of the field didn't make her feel confident. Out of the cave came a large group of cow snakes, she could hardly process what she was seeing, a herd of cow snakes surrounding her, they mooed at her constantly, watching to see her next move.
"There you are!"Came a voice that made the cow snakes stop, turning around Kokoa caught sight of a winged yellow horse with pink hair, she noticed it, or she was holding some form of cloth, it resembled what she presumed was a bandage. "Oh you really must lie down, you are really hurt," She turned her attention to the cow snakes, "All you Ophiotaurus should apologize, I saw you circling her like she was an enemy," Kokoa turned and saw them back up, then looked back at the horse, the horse was giving them a look that shook something in them all, "Yesss misss Fluttershy," one said, they all then mumbled some form of apology, looking down as they did.
"Oh my, will you be alright?" The horse Fluttershy asked, Kokoa hadn't noticed, but she was panting pretty heavily, she held up a hand to signify to give her a minute, she caught her breath and was about to stand, a hoof touched her back and stopped her from standing, " You need to rest, let me bandage you up." Her gently hooves went to work as she slowly and kindly wrapped Kokoa's injury, she was humming as she did so, Kokoa was not used to this much kindness, Fluttershy spoke up again, "I was going to wrap this back in the forest, but you had run off, you had me worried." Kokoa had never met this pony, but she genuinely felt bad for what she did, she didn't know what it was about her, but Fluttershy was intimidating, Kokoa was about to voice an explanation, but found she could still not speak. Having finished bandaging the injury Fluttershy helped Kokoa to her feet, "Come with me, I can't carry you to my home, but if you come with me I can take care of you," Kokoa smiled and accepted, letting some of the weight onto the horse, she walked back along the path she came up, Fluttershy was again humming some tune as they walked. Kokoa managed to get Fluttershy's attention, she then pointed to her bandaged side, immediately the horse got it, "Oh, I'm not sure how you got that, I assumed you got stabbed by a branch when you fell," So, Kokoa had fallen, but it didn't feel like a simple branch injury, she then flashed back to her horrible nightmare, she gave a gasp as she suddenly felt a stab of pain erupt from her side, "Whoa easy there, take it slow now," Fluttershy slowed the pace a little. They continued to walk in near silence, except Fluttershy hummed a few songs, it was becoming dark, both Kokoa and Fluttershy noticed a light ahead, it was a relief to both when they saw it and they even picked up the pace. Once they came into view of the light source they stopped, at the exit of the forest were posted twelve guards, all in bright shining golden armor.
The one with the horn spoke, "You there! You must exit the forest immediately!"
"Oh my, well alright," Fluttershy and Kokoa walked forward, heading to exit the forest, before they cleared the tree line two of the guards spears crossed their path, without warning the horned guard pulled Fluttershy away from Kokoa, holding her in some kind of forcefield, the other tackled Kokoa and held her face down on the ground.
"Ma'am, this creature was attempting to hurt you, it is too dangerous to be let go," Holding her down the guard stomped his front hooves on her back repeatedly, he then backed up and kicked her in the side, partially reopening the injury.
"No stop it! She's injured!" Fluttershy cried, attempting to fight the forcefield, she wiggled helplessly as her new friend was beaten by a guard, "Let me go! You cannot harm her you bullies! Quit it you worthless shit!"
Every guard stopped what they were doing and stared at her, the guard assaulting Kokoa stopped and walked over to Fluttershy, "Hold her," The guard commanded the horned one, who spread Fluttershy's four legs and her wings, the guard then hit Fluttershy right in stomach, making her gasp and fold her head down, then he proceeded to uppercut her right in the snout, sending her flying back, out of the guard's forcefield, walking over to Fluttershy laying on the ground he stepped on her wings, breaking it, "And I will mark you down for treason."
Kokoa had watched in horror as Fluttershy lay there, hurt and crying, being abused by the guard, it pissed her off, she slowly rose to her feet and growled, she ignored the pain and rushed the horned guard, as soon as she reached him she did a high kick, missing his head, but breaking off his horn. The once horned guard lay on the ground, Kokoa was ready to rip him apart, but before she even did anything she felt a huge hunger pang, and the guard began to look absolutely delicious, during this pause the other guard that had assaulted Fluttershy tackled her, hitting and kicking her. The other guards had only watched, two or three of them went and pulled the injured horned guard away, many laughed at the spectacle of their captain taking on this creature, only one guard, an orange pegasus, shook his head at the display, he turned and ran toward the nearby town. As the guards continued to laugh they failed to notice a large dark mass flying toward them, they only watched the fight continue until the captain pinned Kokoa, then a loud screech rang out, the guards looked up and searched for the source, several blurs hit the guards, taking out a different one each time, the blurs were griffon soldiers, none of the guard stood a chance, many had their throats slashed before they could scream. Not many were fighting back, they mostly ran, the captain had jumped up and took on the griffons, he managed to take out a few, he tripped a smaller one, cornering it by a tree, "Any last words?"
"Fuck you, Gilda doesn't do last words!" The smaller griffon spat as she coughed out blood, the captain chuckled and readied his spear, before he could carry through with it the hunger of Kokoa peaked, she tackled the captain and began to rip him apart, shredding his armor she dug right into his side and began to pull off chucks of flesh, she stuffed them into her mouth and ate, she could only think of more, more delicious meat, as she broke the rib cage she caught his final screams, he was screaming a prayer. After the battle ended and Kokoa had had enough pony they all stood and looked around, they began to search for survivors, Gilda got up and wiped herself off, she stared at the once whole body of the guard captain, then at Kokoa, who was covered in blood, "Man that was brutal, get a bit hungry?"
"Hey we got a survivor," Everyone looked over to a black griffon, a few walked over, "Looks like a civilian, broken wing and some broken ribs," Kokoa sighed, she was happy that Fluttershy made it, "She's in bad shape, get a medic over here, and bring that...thing with us when we finish."
===
"Wow," Kurumu was enthralled by the tale.
"Pretty amazing huh?" Gilda smiled.
"But wait,"Kurumu looked between the two, "Why did you eat that pony?"
"Well Gilda and I theorize that being here increases my appetite for meat," Kokoa said, "As only they can provide."
"Oh, is that gonna happen to me?" Kurumu asked.
"It's alright, we got meat in the house, wanna come have some?" Kokoa asked, she waved toward the house, "Come on I'll make lunch."
"Yeah, Lunch," Kurumu had a smile grow on her face, "Sounds good."
~~~
~~~
Tsukune and Mizore were sitting in a cave, they had run through the forest and made it to the mountain where they had discovered the cave, both watched for any sign that they had been followed, neither liked those ponies very much, especially that crazy rainbow one.
"I think it's safe to relax," Tsukune let out a sigh, "So much for peaceful meetings."
"What are we going to do?" Mizore asked, "We don't even know where the others are."
"True," He turned and face the forest, "Let's setup a shelter here,"
"Okay," Mizore quietly agreed.
"I'll go get some wood," Tsukune walked toward the forest.
"I'll go search for food," Mizore walked toward the forest in another direction, "Keep safe my Tsukune."
As they set off they both kept on guard, for even the most simple disturbance, they didn't want to run into any ponies, but that was not what they needed to be worried about, another threat was waiting in the forest, one all too familiar to them.
===
Tsukune had been walking for half an hour, he had managed to find some wood, but not much, as he went to pick up another stick a whooshing made him drop the wood he was holding and take up a fighting stance, another whoosh made him spin around, he listened for another, again a whoosh could be heard behind him, this time he did not turn, he closed his eyes and felt his surroundings, he say many energy signatures. Most of which matched closely to what he thought was a wolf. a few were very large and unfamiliar, and the last, was far too familiar, he thought it impossible. He jumped into a bush near him, the familiar energy began to run, it was quick, he ran to keep up with it, it was evading him, Tsukune jumped over the wolf energy and sped after the familiar one, he couldn't be sure who's it was, but he knew it. Suddenly it made a sharp turn left, leaving him in the dust as it sped forward, he made a sharp turn as well and ran after it, running with his eyes closed meant he didn't know where he was going, but he knew he needed to find out who this was. Running he saw another energy, Mizore, she was up ahead, the familiar energy passed right by her, as did he, not that he didn't need her help, but he was too busy on this strangely familiar energy, it soon jumped, disappearing from Tsukune's sight, he opened his eyes to perhaps see it.
Looking around at his surroundings Tsukune noticed he was in a cave, nothing ahead of him, just the back wall of the cave, but then he heard a distinctly female voice call, "Leave me alone," He looked shocked, the voice was so familiar, yet so foreign, footsteps tore him from his daze, turning he saw Mizore run up to him, she looked worried.
"Are you alright Tsukune?" Mizore hugged him, "What happened?"
Tsukune came out from his trance, "Thought I saw someone, guess not."
"Lets go back to our cave," Mizore grabbed his arm and pulled him with her.
"Yeah, our home," Tsukune liked the sound of that.
As they departed they talked and laughed with each other, they were happy, from the back of the cave a figure walked out from a fluctuating back wall, the figure raised it's forest wand and made a bright flash, "Protection act 'Golden washtub' active, pray for mercy intruders."
Chapter 4: Terrible truths
As the final section of the stone closed behind them the princess walked over to her student, the elements were standing behind the princess, stewing over the revelation of disturbing facts. Beside the princess Twilight let out a loud sigh, "So princess, do you... hate it?"
The princess wore a grim expression, she turned her head the other way, "It would be a lie to say I didn't, but I sometimes wonder what the other side of the story was."
"Why!? You have every right to hate it!" Rainbow put heavy emphasis on hate.
"Calm down there Rainbow," Applejack grabbed Rainbow's tail, "Y'all ain't the one to decide that!"
"It's quite alright," The princess raised her hoof in calming, "I was only a child at the time, I have a hard time remembering the details."
"Pardon me princess, but how is it you knew all that then?" Rarity asked.
"The sun," Princess Celestia answered.
"Huh?" near half of them say.
"When I inherited the sun, the memories of my mother flooded to me," Princess Celestia watched the elements.
"Was it, painful?" Fluttershy spoke from the back.
"It was less from the transfer, more pain came from what the memories contained," The princess let her face drop a bit.
"So is that how it works?" Twilight was genuinely curious, not much was known of alicorns, "Does that happen every time somepony inherits the sun, or moon?"
"Yes Twilight, but eventually memories fade," Princess Celestia raised her head, she would not mope in front of her ponies, "I can still recall late memories of the First born, Goddess Faust."
"Really? What was she like?!" Twilight let her worries fade, "I only read a legend that she was the perfect soul."
The solar princess chuckled, "She was very pure, but far from perfect, she had a weakness for cake if I recall correctly."
"Hey, don't you have a weakness for ca-" Pinkie was cut off by Twilight.
"Maybe we should go get some lunch," Twilight suggested.
"That would be wonderful my faithful student," Princess Celestia smiled.
The group walked slowly and silently toward the castle, after only a minute of silence Rainbow spoke up, "Lunch! I hope it's a nice grilled squir -"
"Rainbow if you don't shut up about eating things I will break both your wings," Fluttershy snapped uncharacteristically from the back, then paled and gulped, "Um, so sorry, I didn't mean to be that mean."
"That was a bit dark Fluttershy dear," Rarity was completely shocked by the outburst.
"Y'all been feelin okay Shy?" Applejack asked.
"Are you okay?" Twilight echoed.
Fluttershy was slightly scared, she had just threatened her friend, she only remembered two times before when she did anything like that, she lowered her head and tried to become as small as possible, she tried to tune out the voices of everypony around her, just when she was about to cry she heard a voice, "Are you quite alright gentle Fluttershy?"
Looking up she saw the warm face of the princess, watching her with loving eyes, "Yes, i'm sorry I snapped at you Rainbow, I just don't know why I did that."
"Hey, it's okay Shy, I know you don't mean it," Rainbow was smiling and flying next to her.
"Thank you, Friend," Fluttershy was suddenly hugged by five mares.
"We will always be here for you Fluttershy," Twilight said, from behind them Princess Celestia chuckled.
"I'm glad I have friends like you girls," Fluttershy let herself be hugged, but on the inside she was trying to trace the outburst, connecting the familiar feelings, from the few outbursts before, to one event.
~~~
~~~
Kurumu had enjoyed a delicious meal with Kokoa and Gilda, the meat had tasted like cooked heaven, and filled her hunger, she felt happy, something she had not felt since she first went to Yokai. They talked and ate, telling stories and information, cracking jokes, and just smiling without end, but just at that last moment Kurumu felt a question surface, one that required an answer.
"What about the others?" Kurumu anxiously asked.
"What do you mean?" Kokoa wore a curious look.
"I mean what if they got here long ago?" Kurumu felt like she was gonna hyperventilate.
"Why don't we see them here today?" Gilda asked.
"Huh?" Kurumu was confused.
"Well tell me," Kokoa shifted, "How long do monsters live?"
"Hundreds of years," Kurumu was not eased, " Only."
"Yes, but that increases the chances of them living today by a great amount," Kokoa stated.
"But the time they could have arrived could have been, thousands of years," Kurumu shook her head slowly.
"Did you listen to Paradox?" Kokoa wrinkled her noise at the name, "He most likely has some sort of plan in play."
"Most likely some evil take over scheme," Kurumu resorted to the norm situation, "But i didn't think you were paying attention, since you were busy ogling him."
"Haha! You were checkin him out!?" Gilda fell on the floor laughing.
"Yeah yeah, thanks for the return nightmares," Kokoa folded her arms.
"Psh, you were in love," Kurumu scoffed.
"It didn't last long," Kokoa shook her head.
"What, didn't love him like you thought?" Gilda was recovering slowly.
"Didn't love him at all," Kokoa was beginning to tune out.
"Then why were you staring like a love struck puppy?" Kurumu was smirking.
"So I was," Kokoa stretched, "But that changed real quick."
"Would that be the part where he stranded us here?" Kurumu and Gilda attempted to keep the laughter in.
"Oh haha laugh it up," Kokoa then turned a lighter tone, "But no, the whole time living here has been a blessing."
"Got that right!" Gilda fist bumped Kokoa.
"So then," Kurumu was curious, "Why do you suddenly have it out for him?"
"It's something I would rather not discuss it," Kokoa suddenly felt cold.
"Ah come on, tell us," Gilda begged.
"No, that's personal," Kokoa never told anyone.
"Please?" Gilda attempted to pull off the puppy eyes.
"Nope," Kokoa shook her head.
"Aw why not?" Gilda slouched a bit.
"I already told you why," Kokoa said.
"Oh fine," Gilda huffed.
"Well now that we got that cleared up," Kurumu sat up, "What say we try and track down the others?"
"And how would we do that?" Kokoa asked.
"Research," Kurumu answered.
"What research," Gilda asked, "Where would we go to research?"
"I don't know," Kurumu was not discouraged, "But we need to."
"Research?" Kokoa was curious, "What would we get from that?"
"The history of the empire," Kurumu stayed optimistic, "The history of other nations."
"Why would we need that," Gilda asked.
"Well, when any of us monsters show up," Kurumu paused a second, "Things get very serious."
Everyone sat for a moment in silence, Kokoa knew it was true, she knew that where ever her or any others had been were now spots where bad things tended to go down, they were trouble magnets. She didn't remember many days when trouble was not at the door ,or already in progress, it was like life was playing a cruel joke on them, one that never ended.
"Really, I hadn't noticed," Gilda rolled her eyes, the sarcasm leaking from her comment.
"Laugh all you want," Kokoa shook her head.
"It's true,"Gilda exclaimed, "I mean, how many missions have we been on where you absolutely destroy the target?"
"A few," Kokoa had a calm tone.
"Like every mission, ever," Gilda gestured inward, "I'm only getting promoted because of our success rate!"
"Promoted?" Kokoa said slowly, "Really? That's great!"
"Promoted?" Kurumu didn't know what she was talking about.
"Yeah, the king himself did it," Gilda pulled into a smirk, " What about you Kokoa? Still being boring?"
"Yeah, just took out some more border guard for those pony wimps," Kokoa sighed.
"Ah, yep," Gilda plucked a loose feather, "Still boring."
"How can you call that boring?" Kurumu asked.
"It's only special ops," Gilda shrugged, "I get an army."
"Really?" Kurumu raised a brow, "You have an army?"
"Oh yeah," Kokoa waved a hand, "That won't last long"
"Uh huh," Gilda leaned back, "Just jealous eh?"
"Oh you wish," Kokoa sneered slightly.
'Things are getting heavy,' Kurumu rolled her eyes and prepared to endure the ensuing argument.
~~~
~~~
Tsukune and Mizore had finally gotten comfortable, they had found some food, only cursing their misfortune five times, but things were fairly uneventful. While they settled in they noticed a plethora of unusual and odd creatures pass the cave, one of which they dubbed a pinewolf, being made of wood.
"So tired," Mizore had eaten with Tsukune, helped him fix up the cave, and search for food, not to mention she had run from colorful horses earlier.
"You should rest," Tsukune fought back a yawn, "I can keep lookout while you sleep."
"You don't have to you could jus....." She mumbled quieter and quieter, deciding to lay on Tsukune's lap, she curled up and fell into the deep embrace of sleep.
"Sleep well Mizi," Tsukene stroked her head gently,all the while he was slowly caving in to the influence of the subconscious.
He fought a losing battle to stay awake, eyelids becoming heavier and heavier, he was falling in and out of sleep, hardly paying attention to his surroundings, the last thing he remembered seeing was a dark blur run past the cave entrance, then heard a muffled voice, just clear enough to understand.
"Now you will learn never to trespass in the forest of Yuka....."
Chapter 5: A legend's sin
"Unconscious, something rather impossible to grasp, it is what we dream, but what we do, never real, yet always true, unexplored by any reality bound race, yet grasped as truth by them and used as faith." Not something Moka was used to hearing in a dream, or dreaming about anything so in depth at all, she awoke with a violent cough, slowly attempting to rise, only to fall back down due to the weakness of her limbs, she was not sure why, but she couldn't understand how she became so weak. Positioning herself up a bit she turned her head to catch a small glimpse of her surroundings, which looked like a laboratory mixed with a library, she managed to catch sight of a window, she saw that it held no glass or any form of shielding, but she could clearly see a massive storm rushing by, the snow didn't seem to even touch the window, letting herself fall back down she just noticed that she was laying on a bed.
"So you have finally awoken?" A voice called, making her suffer a mini heart attack, then turn left to see person(Pony) who spoke.
"What?" That was all she could get out, she was staring a gray unicorn
"Ah yes, I assume a bipedal creature such as you has not encountered something such as me," He spoke as he stood there with a smile.
"Yeah," Moka was still processing this, she knew this was real, but it looked like a dream.
"From my knowledge, you are still experiencing the weakening effects of the rift jump," He walked over to what looked like a bird feeder, but it glowed bright gold upon his approach.
"The what?" Moka was surprised how well she was taking this all, but she still felt like she could trust him.
"Rift jump, moving from one reality to another, by phasing no less," He sounded surprised saying the last part.
"Um, who are you?" Moka asked, she had managed to get in a sitting position, "Cause my name is Moka."
"Starswirl, the bearded," He added as he looked down at the dangling beard.
"Oh, okay, um where am I?" Moka looked around again.
"My tower, after all, magic can be dangerous," Starswirl said, he smiled and looked into the bird bath again.
"Oh magic," Moka was no stranger to the danger of the magical arts, she and the group had fought off many magical things, THE GROUP!! "Were there any others like me here?"
"Why no, why do you ask child?" Starswirl asked as he stroked his beard, still watching the bird bath.
"My friends, they...." She couldn't finish it, she knew she would most likely not seem them again, but she still hoped.
"Worry not, if another appears i will be able to track it," Starswirl then gasped, he had made a breakthrough.
"What?" Moka asked, he seemed excited.
"This just may be possible!" He grinned as he grabbed things from around the room, he began to pour different amounts from each in and stirred.
"What, um, is it?" Moka asked, she was slowly getting stronger, but not enough to move.
"A project of mine," He said, taking a moment to measure the bird bath content, "I look to create the ultimate tool of harmony!"
"Tool of harmony?" Moka sat up a little.
"Yes, the very elements of each harmonious attribute, they could be used to right the wrong and save the lost!" Starswirl did a little prance in place while saying all this.
"Sounds like the perfect tool," She was still sitting up, watching this older stallion get excited like Kurumu running to Tsukune, oh how she wanted to be with her friends.
"Indeed, it would bring an end to this accursed winter," Starswirl spared a glance at the window.
"What's wrong with winter?" Moka liked winter, especially snowball fights.
"Tis the middle of summer," He gave her a deadpanned look.
"Oh, so magical winter?" She hadn't known it was summer here.
"Unfortunately so, and we cannot stop it while the Windigo's patrol and watch us," He took a gem from his cape and dropped it in the bb.
"Magical spirit horses of hate and destruction?" She asked, this was not the first time she had encountered a similar creature.
"Precisely, how is it you know?" He looked at her with a curious look, he then looked back at the bb as it made a zapping sound.
"I have met many odd creatures over the time I have lived," She was not very old at all, but she still found that it felt like forever with the amount of things she has encountered.
"Hmm, done!" Starswirl magically lifted six bright gems, all of which seemed to give off a warmth.
"Are those the tools?" She asked him, he nodded.
"Only the gems, the Elements of harmony, they lack the actual substance that make it whole," He said, making sure he packed them away safely.
"So how do you make them whole?" She asked, as she never really could grasp the concept her hex and enchantment class taught.
"We must gather those from around this broken land, those who posses the different elements of harmony," He gestured to the window.
"Sounds like a good name for them," Moka was beginning to feel her legs again.
"What, the elements of harmony?" Starswirl tapped his chin as he thought about it, "That actually is a fitting name."
"Do you live alone?" Moka wondered if there were more like Starswirl.
"Live alone? No, not this old soul," He gave a small laugh as he thought of something, "Not anymore."
"A wife?" She asked.
"Yes, she is the Queen," He hung his head for a minute, then continued, "And I have two lovely little daughters."
"Huh," Moka was a little surprised, she had assumed little meant young, and looking at him.....
"Yes, I'm old," Starswirl laughed as he finished her thought, "They aren't related biologically."
"I didn't mean to-" she was interrupted as the door burst open.
"Daddy!" A small voice called, making both turn to see who it was.
"Ah! What troubles you my little Luna?" The bearded pony walked over to a little blue filly, with a horn and wings.
"Celly won't share the cake!" she had adorable little tears falling down her cheeks, " And she told me she would never give me any!"
"Go and tell her I want to talk to her," He was laying down, he gave her a hug before she left.
"Cute little girl," Moka just smiled, Starswirl really was a kind soul.
"They make me feel even older than I am," He rubbed his forehead, "But I would never give them up for anything."
"WHAT!??! YOU WENT AND TOLD DAD A LIE!!?! WHY YOU SMALL STUPID SI-"
"CEELEESSTIAA!! YOU MARCH RIGHT OVER HERE!! NOW!!!" Starswirl boomed, making Moka cover her ears, "My apologies miss Moka, it is the only way to get her here."
"It's alright, just a bit loud," Moka was attempting to get the ringing out of her ears.
"It is a rather loud family," Starswirl gave her a smile.
Another little pony walked in, this one was white with a pink mane, she then looked down at the floor before talking, "Yes dad?"
"What was that," He tapped his hoof.
"Well, I had the cake, an she, well, she-" She was cut off as he held up a hoof.
"Not that, why did you yell at her like that?" He gave the disapproving look only a parent could give.
"But she-" Little Celestia was cut off again.
"No, you will go down there and apologize, and I don't want to hear anymore of this behavior," He sent her away to apologize, as soon as his daughter left he turned to Moka, "I worry, if she keeps doing this, she may drive her sister to do something she may regret."
"I know what you mean, me and my siblings were not very close," Moka wasn't really feeling like talking about it, and she wouldn't.
"With luck they will come closer than they are now," Starswirl sighed and turned to her, "How are you feeling?"
"Much better," Moka smiled at him, then a thought occurred to her, "How will I get back home, if I can?"
"I'm afraid Magic cannot achieve such a thing," He saw her droop a bit.
"Oh," she never before felt so sad.
"But, I can offer you a place to call home, you would be well respected here," He held out a hoof, Moka shakily got up, and returned the shake.
"Thank you," Moka worried that even though she would stay here, the Fillies would not accept her.
"Now, I believe we have an assembly to plan, to complete these elements," Starswirl and moka both nodded and left the room to plan it.
Niether realized that this would be the start of a strange chain of events, and they did not end well.
