The Demon lord of Equestriaby NinetailsChaptersThe new monster in the forestA Castle In The WoodsBuilding BridgesBurning bridgesThe new monster in the forestPain. This was the first thing I experienced upon awakening. My eyes snapped open, but a shroud of darkness obscured my vision. I felt my body changing, changing into something powerful, something dark in nature. After what seemed to be an eternity, I felt the changes to my body cease and a feeling of relief overcame me. However, the worst was yet to come. Now that my body had finished undergoing its changes, I felt my mind begin to warp and change. I became more intelligent, calculative, and cold. As this was happening, I felt memories of my life slipping away into the darkness around me and vainly tried to hold onto my name, my parents, anything. It was in vain and I felt the last shreds of my memory vanishing into the darkness around me as I lost consciousness, finally succumbing to the pain that the changes had caused. “Urg…” I moaned, as I slowly regained consciousness, opening my eyes blearily. I raised my head and attempted to gain my bearings, observing my surroundings curiously. I noted that I was in a clearing surrounded by a dense forest with naught a creature in sight. After making this observation, I attempted to stand, slowly rising onto all fours. I looked around the clearing again, this time spotting a small pool of water. Suddenly becoming aware of my intense thirst, I made my way over to the pool of water and took a drink. After drinking my fill,I realized that I did not know what I looked like. I attempted to recall my appearance, but I found that I could not. Feeling slightly unnerved by this and not having a mirror in the vicinity, I turned back towards the pool of water and gazed at my reflection. Looking back at me was a large fox covered in smooth tan fur. I was wearing a plain white fox mask with elegant, yet simple red markings. Where eye holes would normally be were instead two smoothly drawn dark blots. Satisfied with what I had seen, I moved to turn away from the pool until I saw something resembling a hilt over my right shoulder. ‘A sword?’ I mused, turning my head slightly and gripping the hilt in my mouth. I turned back towards the pool in order to inspect the weapon, the motion drawing the blade from it’s place on my back. It was indeed sword, but it was quite odd in design. The blade was a dark shade of green and possessed nine hook-like protrusions on the sides. It was a wicked looking weapon that seemed to radiate malice and ill-intent. I decided that it needed a name. After a moment of thought it came to me, ‘Nine Strike…’ a voice in the back of my head whispered. I quickly turned, expecting some creature to be behind me, but no one was there. Chalking it up to a brief moment of paranoia, I mulled over the name I came up with. ‘Nine Strike… it’s perfect’ I thought in no small measure of satisfaction. I moved to place the sword onto my back until yet another thing caught my eye. It was my tail, or, to be more precise, all nine of my tails. Intrigued by this new development, I turned my head to the side in order to more fully view my them. What I saw intrigued me, each tail was covered in luxurious tan fur with the tip of each tail stained crimson, as if by blood. In addition, the upper portion of each tail was wrapped in what appeared to be bands of green cloth, with a different colored fox mask set onto each. Curiosity over my appearance finally sated, I came to a startling conclusion. I didn’t have a name. I attempted to recall what my name might have been, but found that I couldn't dredge up the memory. ‘Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to think up a new one.’ I mused. I pondered over it for a moment, until it came to me in a flash of brilliance. ‘Ninetails shall be my name’ I decided.’The perfect name for a nine tailed fox’ I thought, and felt a grin starting to stretch across my face. That is, until I heard a menacing growl coming from behind me. ‘Crap!’ I swore silently within my mind, cursing myself for letting my guard down. I spun around to face the source of the growl. About ten feet in front of me was a manticore, it had a primal hunger in it’s eyes, with it’s gaze firmly locked onto me. Tensing my body, I prepared myself for an attack, knowing that negotiation wasn’t an option. Suddenly, the manticore lunged forward with lightning speed and brought it’s tail to bear. Thinking quickly, I dodged to the side, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw the manticore’s tail embedded into the ground where I had been standing but a moment before. I braced myself for another attack, but it never came. Looking over in surprise, I noted that the manticore was having some trouble getting it’s tail out of the ground. ‘Now is my chance to get out of here!’ Was the first thought that entered my mind. However, that thought was quickly crushed down and replaced by a cold, calculative anger. ‘No… this creature dared to attack me and now is the time to strike’ I thought with grim resolve. ‘Its time for you to pay, you filthy animal’ I thought darkly. With this in mind and assured by fact that the manticore was immobilized, I prepared for a counterattack and guided by what can only be called instinct, brought my tail upward into a arch over my head. As soon as my tail was in position, time seemed to stop and the world appeared gray. By some odd compulsion, I mimicked making a slashing motion with my tail in the direction of the manticore’s immobilized appendage. To my surprise, when I did this, a line of red ink appeared overtop of the manticore’s tail, almost as if I were an artist with the world as my canvas. When I brought my tail back down, time seemed to resume as color flooded back into the world. Then, ‘Shing!’ the manticore’s tail severed from the rest of its body as an invisible blade cut through like a hot knife through butter. The manticore roared in agony and lunged at me, intent on sharing it’s pain. With the haze of battle fogging my mind, I felt a wicked grin appear on my face as I moved slightly to the side and brought Nine Strike to bear. The blade seemed to glow with malevolence as I swung it towards the manticore’s face, with the blade returning to it’s place on my back as I finished the motion. For a moment, nothing happened and everything was still. Then, with a look of shock, the manticore’s head was suddenly split in two, pouring blood and brain matter onto the ground. ‘Serves it right, it should have known better than to attack me’ I thought in smug satisfaction, crushing down any guilt I might have felt at the act. Gazing at the corpse of my fallen foe, I moved my gaze away from the dead manticore and went to the middle of the clearing to sit down. Musing over the events of the battle, I pondered where that strange power had come from. ‘It seems to be related to my tails… such a power will be useful in the future’ I mused. ‘I need to think of a name for such a technique, perhaps-’ Before I could sink further into my thoughts however, a low growl came from around the edges of clearing. Jumping to my paws, I observed the newcomers cautiously. A pack of wooden wolves had surrounded the clearing, snarling in hostility. ‘Wooden wolves...perhaps, Timberwolves?’ I thought, quickly coming up with the name. I observed them with slight curiosity, which was quickly overshadowed by annoyance as the timberwolves moved closer towards my position. ‘I'm not in the mood for this’ I thought harshly, before raising myself to full height. ‘Leave!’ I thought, and let loose the most menacing roar I could. While the volume of the roar was intimidating enough on its own, it was how the roar seemed to warp the light spectrum, causing everything to glow a dark crimson that ultimately did the job. The wolves cowered in fear before breaking apart. Staring in slight bewilderment at the remains of the timberwolves, I let out a sigh. ‘I have lingered here long enough, I need to get out of this blasted forest…’ ‘Perhaps I can find a city or town nearby, a map would be useful’ With that in mind, I chose a random direction and set off. Author's Note Okay SupriseKitty redid the chapter and is helping with all future works. He has been a huge help to me and im very grateful to him. Don't worry though this won't affect the plot in any big ways. A Castle In The WoodsAfter what seemed like hours of uneventful trudging through the forest I came upon a clearing. It was unremarkable in every way except for the castle sitting in the middle of the clearing. As I sat at the edge of the forest I couldn't help but wonder if it belonged to anyone. If it didn't I could use it as a shelter and base until I found somewhere more suitable. If it did I could only hope that they would be nice to little lonely fox demon. Wait demon, where did that term come from? I sat there and pondered this but like my old name and everything else related to my past I could not recall anything, it was just a blank. As I sat there trying and failing to figure out my past I noticed a guard walking around the edges of the castle walls. He was a pony clad in armor and carrying some kind of weapon. Despite my excellent sight the angle of where I was in relation to where he was made it difficult to determine his weapon. I was at an impasse, I could approach and try to communicate with the guard. However I didn't know if I could speak at all. Even if I could the guard might not understand me, and then again even if he did he might just run me off. 'sigh' “If only I could speak” I said my voice a surprisingly deep. That was, surprising to say the least. I wasn't even sure I could speak. Now the only problem was whether or not these ponies could understand me. Well I wasn't making any progress where I was so I decided to approach and come what may. I made my way around the castle until I was in position to approach the main gate. As I made my way up to the main gate I couldn't help but notice the guards react to my approach. “Halt who goes there!” A voice proclaimed leading me to believe he was in charge. “I am but a mere traveler with no home to return to and place for my weary head.” I responded to the guard hoping I would not be turned away. That would be...unpleasant for them and me. More so for them however. As I was musing I couldn't help but notice that there was one less guard on the tower. “We have sent word to the princesses please remain where you are!” the voice called down to me. 'Well it's progress' I thought to myself. Then suddenly the gates opened up to reveal two much taller and regal looking ponies. One was as white as the purest light with a flowing mane. She seemed to radiate sunlight and warmth. However I noticed something else about her. A certain tension one that comes with bearing the responsibility of many on your shoulders. As well as a willingness to defend them with all your heart. The other was a comforting dark blue with a flowing mane that seemed to be made of starlight. She seemed to be more relaxed than the other one, but I could tell that she seemed to be agitated about something. “Hello friend” spoke the white one “I am princess Celestia, this guard has informed me you have arrived at our gate in search of shelter.” “Indeed I have” I stated giving a slight bow to show respect. “I have no place to call home and nothing to call my own.” “How sad.” Stated the blue princess. “Indeed I was hoping that you could be so kind as to spare some shelter for a little while.” “Certainly you can stay as long as you need to however I did not catch your name.” While Celestia spoke the blue star pony nodded in agreement. 'I did not offer it, It is Ninetails by the way” I could see on the star princesses face that she was thoroughly amused at my name. “Well then Ninetails come inside we have much to discuss.” At this she turned and went inside. I fell in behind them wondering how this would work out. I thought that maybe there were other creatures like me but then I quickly crushed that thought for some reason. As we walked though the castle I decided to take stock of the situation. I was alone had no memories. To top it all off I had no idea where I was. The castle was nice enough I guess. I didn't have anything to compare it to though so I really didn't know. We eventually arrived at a long and wide room with two thrones at the end one had a sun above it the other a moon. The two princesses sat on one throne each the golden one sat under the sun the blue one under the moon. “Now then Ninetails I can't help but wonder what are you? I do hope its not impolite of me to ask.” Celestia said. “Not at all however I must admit that....” I say my voice trailing off. A single thought raced through my head. Would they accept me as a demon? “You do not remember?” She asked. “It is not that your majesty it is just that well....” I trail off letting my head droop. “Its not important anyhow.” Celestia stated ending the matter. I kept a neutral face. It wasn't hard to do with my mask. I noticed Luna seemed to want to continue the matter however she did not openly challenge Celestia for the answer. “What is importiant now is the matter of your lodging.” Celestia looked at me with concern. I chalked it up to that they probably didn't know what kind of bed I would be comfortable in. I could probably fit in any sized bed they had if I didn't have these tails. I love them to death but having nine tails, each as long as you was proving to be quite a pain. However at this point I was not picky and would sleep on a stone floor if it meant shelter. “As long as I have a roof and four walls I will be fine for tonight.” I stated. I could see my statement eased the distress of the princess. “Then I will have a guard escort you to the guest room.” She clapped her hooves together and a guard walked up to me and motioned for me to follow. “If you would like to leave your sword somewhere the armory is just up ahead.” The guardspony stated. “No thank you I will keep it with me.” I stated flatly cutting off that topic. 'Why is he so keen to relieve me of my sword'. We kept walking in silence until we arrived at the guest room. Well one of them there were several guest rooms in the castle as to be expected of royalty. They probably had ambassadors from other countries arrive for political reasons. “Well here you are. I do hope you find everything to be up to your satisfaction sir.” With that he left me to attend to his other duties. I entered the room using one of my tails to turn the knob. What greeted me was a nice and almost quaint little room. The only thing it had in it was a bed, a bedside table, and a lamp sitting on the table. Getting into bed was a little awkward for me but I managed. As I curled up on the bed wrapping me tails around myself I smiled. Tomorrow would be a very busy day. Author's Note Sorry for the wait I do hope you guys like it. side note I start work tomorrow. woo Building BridgesI awoke the next morning feeling much better than I did when I first awoke in the forest. Well I still had no memories or idea where I was but I felt better to say the least. I stretched out on the bed and started grooming my tails. I don't really know why I started this but it was a relaxing venture to say the least. It was however, a time consuming process. After an hour of careful hard work I had finished my task. My tails looked much better and I also felt better. It was then that the door to my room slowly opened. 'Talk about timing'. “Um mister Ninetails I was sent to fetch you when you are ready to see the princesses.” The servant was quite nervous. I didn't quite get why as I had done nothing to suggest I would be hostile. I arose from the bed and made my way over to her. She stared intently at the floor and looked surprised when I placed one of my tails under her chin and gently raised her head to look at me. “Well then lead on my dear.” I said simply looking into her eyes to show there was no need to fear me. If I had know how this day would end I wouldn't have bothered trying to change her perception of me. After this she lead me through the castle and we arrived at a the main hall where the princesses were already sitting on their respective thrones. “Aha Ninetails good to see you. I trust you had a good night?” Luna was positively brimming with excitement. Probably because unlike when we first met I had all day to answer any questions they might have. I bowed a little to show respect. “Yes I did have a good night.” I said smiling. I wondered if they could see my smile through my mask. 'Probably not, they probably think I don't show emotion, pity'. I could tell they wanted to ask more questions of me but I needed to know a few things first. “I hate to seem like a burden but I don't actually know where I am.” I stated wanting to get the awkward questions out of the way first. This did seem to surprise the princesses as they assumed I would have such rudimentary knowledge such as the country I was currently in. “Of course I didn't realize that you didn't know.” Celestia said her eyes widening at the realization. After that she set about explaining Equestria as well as the surrounding countries. To the north was the Crystal Empire. It was ruled by king Sombra. Apparently the two sisters didn't like him at all. To the east was the Griffin kingdom. Ruled by Royal Feather it seemed to have strained relationships with Equestria. To the West was the badlands apparently. No one seemed to know what lived there as no pony who went in came out. As of yet the southern border was largely unexplored because of the Everfree Forest. I could see why they didn't try to go through it. I could handle myself against the few monsters I had met in the forest but I wasn't sure if I could keep my winning streak up. Also I imagined that most of these ponies were not as strong as me. After they finished their explanation of Equestria and the surrounding nations the conversation went to its next logical topic, me. I can't say I didn't try to answer the questions they asked. Its just that my only memories they didn't know about were me waking up realizing I had no memory and the manticore attack. They pressed me quite a bit on my powers once they heard about them. “So what exactly is this power you wield?” Luna asked me. I shifted from one paw to another unsure about how to answer that question. 'What exactly is my power?' I looked up and decided to share what I knew. “As far as I can tell the power is related to my tails. When I used my power the world appeared gray and still. Moving my tail above my head seemed to draw on the world with red ink.” 'Blood' my thoughts whispered correcting me. “After I drew the line time and color seemed to catch up to me and where I drew the line the manticores tails was cleaved apart.” “This is an interesting development.” Celestia quipped. I nodded in agreement as much as I probably should have used caution to hide my abilities I felt it only right to be honest. “Can you demonstrate this ability for us to see?” Luna asked. I thought about it. 'It can't hurt'. 'On the other paw what would I cut...for that matter what else can I do'. I pondered this for a while before deciding I could demonstrate my ability. “I would like to but what would I use it on? I don't want to damage anything important.” I asked. Luna considered this before Celestia spoke. “Well I happen to have an apple here that I wish was in cut half but it seems that my chefs didn't do so.” She cheerily pointed out. I chuckled a bit despite myself. Celestia placed the apple on the ground a good ten feet from me. I began to wonder if I could actually replicate that power. After that moment of contemplation I decided to proceed. Raising one of my tails above my head in a motion that, even though I had only done it once before under extreme pressure, felt completely natural. After my tail was in position the world entered a familiar state of grays and stillness. I “drew” a red line across the apple and when I was finished a familiar sight greeted me. The world seemed to catch up with me as color and motion flooded back into the world. The apple suddenly seemed to develop a split cleanly where my line had been drawn. The two sisters look in shock at the now bisected apple. “So what did you see?” I asked curious to see if they had experienced time the same way I did. The sisters looked at each other and then Luna spoke up. “I did not see anything like what you described to us.” She started slowly. “What I saw was you moved your tail then it twitched and the apple was cleaved in two.” The three of us sat there contemplating what was just said. 'She didn't see the color fade or return. What does that mean'. I guessed it meant that for me time stopped while for everyone else nothing stopped at all. I was pondering what that meant when a guard burst into the room. From the looks of him he had been flying for quite some distance. All eyes were on him as he spoke. “Princesses...I..bring news fromponyville...the local...local Ursa population is going..wild!” He tried to say everything in one breath but his exhaustion meant he could only speak in short bursts. Celestia and Luna seemed shocked at the news. However it did not prevent them from giving orders and taking command. A thing I was beginning to admire about them. “Send a full regiment of guards to ponyville at once.” Celestia commanded with all the air of authority she could muster. Which was quite a lot. “Princess allow me to repay you for your kindness by helping with this problem.” I said stepping forward. Celestia and Luna turned and kinda just stared at me. I will admit the fact I couldn't read the expressions on their faces was quite disturbing to me. “Sister what do you think?” Celestia turned to Luna looking for a second opinion to help base hers on. “I believe we should allow our guest to help if he is willing to.” As Luna spoke her voice seemed unusually measured. Celestia considered this before speaking. “I agree with you sister. Very well Ninetails if you wish to assist the guard I will not stop you.” She stated. I bowed slightly and then proceeded following the guard to where they were gathering. If I had know the repercussions of trying to help these ponies. I wouldn’t have even bothered. Burning bridgesAuthor's Note Sorry for the delay but figuring out how to end this chapter was a bitch. In the end I went for a lead in to the next chapter. Have fun. Burning bridges I sat in the courtyard near the main gate with the guards who were going to dispatched to deal with the threat that was recently revealed. I sat to the rear of the group simply because I was taller and wanted a bit of space for my tails. I could see the guards around me were concerned about having me acompany them. It irked me but I did understand where they were coming from. The the captain of the operation arrived and stood upon the little makeshift stand that had been made for the briefing. “Alright listen up. We are going to be deployed to Ponyville in order to protect them from the Ursa Major threat. I know many of you have never seen an Ursa let alone faced one in battle but take heart. They may bigger than us and stronger than us but we are smarter than them. They cannot plan.” He gave his speech as he pace back and forth. I could see it was having the desired effect on the gathered bodies present. Even I had to admit it was a little inspirational. After the briefing the captain took me aside to ask a question. “Look I personally don't care who or what you are, however my soldiers are a little antsy about your coming with us, I was wondering if you could do something about that. I don't like my soldiers nervous.” I placed a paw on my chin in thought. 'What he says is true, and I don't want to cause problems. What can I do?' Change your form. 'What? Who keeps saying that? Also how do I do that?' Simply focus on your desired form and you will change into it. It was getting kinda creepy how this strange voice had all these answers. The only reason I wasn't completely freaking out over it was that it didn't seem to try to influence my decisions. It only seemed to give me advice on my abilities. Like an instinct given a voice. 'Maybe its a piece of my past that is still with me'. After musing on that for a few seconds I decided to try shifting my form into something less obtrusive. I thought about becoming a smaller one tailed fox. As I concentrated I felt myself shrink. I opened my eyes to the captain looking at me his jaw on the floor. “Wow.” Was the extent of his vocabulary at that moment. I let out a small chuckle. “I do hope this will be satisfactory captain. I don't really know what else I can do.” 'Maybe shape shift into one of the guard. But then they would notice I'm not there. No that wouldn't work'. “Y-yes I believe that will work.” He stammered as surprised as I was with my new found ability. A few hours later me and the guards arrived at Ponyville without incident. We went into the town and greeted the various ponies that called it home. A few questions about me arose but the captain dismissed them by calling me an “adviser”. I almost laughed at that. Me a demon that has no memory before I awoke in a clearing an “adviser”. Still it made sense to say. I sighed inwardly. Why am I even here? Not being able to answer that question I simply let it slide. Hours later night had fallen upon us. I had hoped for a quiet uneventful night. Alas it seems fate said “fuck you”. This particular fuck you came in the form of a massive purple star bear tearing out of the forest and smashing directly into the town. I ran from my post to see it. This thing was big...no it was beyond huge. The guards were trying and failing to contain it. I decided to try my luck and delivered a slash to the creatures eye. It responded by roaring and charging me. Aw crap. I attempted to dodge however the massive bear was simply too big. The resulting slap sent me through an entire building. Anger filled me as I rose. HOW DARE YOU! How dare you attack me you pathetic creature! I charged the beast summoning a ball of flame by drawing a infinity symbol. I followed this up with a spiral that summoned a gust of wind pushing the ball of flame at the massive bear. It collided but didn't have the desired effect at all. My attack only served to enrage the creature further. It rampaged at me once again however this time I was ready. Darkness swirled around me as I released my disguise and revealed my true form. My tails lashed around in anticipation of the pain I was going to inflict upon my foe. I heard some unintelligible screams off to my sides. I paid them no mind as I was far too focused on my prey. The world turned gray and my tails began to draw furiously. When I had finished a torrent of the elements was unleashed. Lightning danced from the sky. Fire danced and burned. Ice pierced and melted. Rain attempted to douse the flames but was fought by the wind which only served to fan them. The ursa roared in pain as nature itself heeded my call to kill it. After what felt like an eternity it finally fell. As tiring as it was to go all out like that I one more thing I needed to do. I readied nine-strike as I approached the beast. It looked up at me with a look. I guess it was trying to beg for its life. It was short lived as I brought my blade down and removed its head. The beasts blood went everywhere. After the thing was felled I took stock of the surrounding area. The village was gone. My fury and power had leveled the whole thing. A few small fires danced. I called forth a rainstorm to put out the fire. After dousing the flames I began to look around. The village was reduced to little more than rubble. I couldn’t see a single survivor. Making my way through the rubble and carnage I came upon many bodies. Some mangled by fire and debris that you wouldn’t recognize them. Others looked like they had simply fallen asleep. I wandered through the carnage thinking about the loss of life. It was all my fault. Yet I felt no guilt. I was saddened by the loss of life. Yet I did not feel the guilt I would have associated with such an action. Before I could think upon this any further a voice I had hoped to not hear spoke up from behind me. “What happened here?” It almost cracked and lost its regal sound but in the end it held firm.
The new monster in the forestPain. This was the first thing I experienced upon awakening. My eyes snapped open, but a shroud of darkness obscured my vision. I felt my body changing, changing into something powerful, something dark in nature. After what seemed to be an eternity, I felt the changes to my body cease and a feeling of relief overcame me. However, the worst was yet to come. Now that my body had finished undergoing its changes, I felt my mind begin to warp and change. I became more intelligent, calculative, and cold. As this was happening, I felt memories of my life slipping away into the darkness around me and vainly tried to hold onto my name, my parents, anything. It was in vain and I felt the last shreds of my memory vanishing into the darkness around me as I lost consciousness, finally succumbing to the pain that the changes had caused. “Urg…” I moaned, as I slowly regained consciousness, opening my eyes blearily. I raised my head and attempted to gain my bearings, observing my surroundings curiously. I noted that I was in a clearing surrounded by a dense forest with naught a creature in sight. After making this observation, I attempted to stand, slowly rising onto all fours. I looked around the clearing again, this time spotting a small pool of water. Suddenly becoming aware of my intense thirst, I made my way over to the pool of water and took a drink. After drinking my fill,I realized that I did not know what I looked like. I attempted to recall my appearance, but I found that I could not. Feeling slightly unnerved by this and not having a mirror in the vicinity, I turned back towards the pool of water and gazed at my reflection. Looking back at me was a large fox covered in smooth tan fur. I was wearing a plain white fox mask with elegant, yet simple red markings. Where eye holes would normally be were instead two smoothly drawn dark blots. Satisfied with what I had seen, I moved to turn away from the pool until I saw something resembling a hilt over my right shoulder. ‘A sword?’ I mused, turning my head slightly and gripping the hilt in my mouth. I turned back towards the pool in order to inspect the weapon, the motion drawing the blade from it’s place on my back. It was indeed sword, but it was quite odd in design. The blade was a dark shade of green and possessed nine hook-like protrusions on the sides. It was a wicked looking weapon that seemed to radiate malice and ill-intent. I decided that it needed a name. After a moment of thought it came to me, ‘Nine Strike…’ a voice in the back of my head whispered. I quickly turned, expecting some creature to be behind me, but no one was there. Chalking it up to a brief moment of paranoia, I mulled over the name I came up with. ‘Nine Strike… it’s perfect’ I thought in no small measure of satisfaction. I moved to place the sword onto my back until yet another thing caught my eye. It was my tail, or, to be more precise, all nine of my tails. Intrigued by this new development, I turned my head to the side in order to more fully view my them. What I saw intrigued me, each tail was covered in luxurious tan fur with the tip of each tail stained crimson, as if by blood. In addition, the upper portion of each tail was wrapped in what appeared to be bands of green cloth, with a different colored fox mask set onto each. Curiosity over my appearance finally sated, I came to a startling conclusion. I didn’t have a name. I attempted to recall what my name might have been, but found that I couldn't dredge up the memory. ‘Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to think up a new one.’ I mused. I pondered over it for a moment, until it came to me in a flash of brilliance. ‘Ninetails shall be my name’ I decided.’The perfect name for a nine tailed fox’ I thought, and felt a grin starting to stretch across my face. That is, until I heard a menacing growl coming from behind me. ‘Crap!’ I swore silently within my mind, cursing myself for letting my guard down. I spun around to face the source of the growl. About ten feet in front of me was a manticore, it had a primal hunger in it’s eyes, with it’s gaze firmly locked onto me. Tensing my body, I prepared myself for an attack, knowing that negotiation wasn’t an option. Suddenly, the manticore lunged forward with lightning speed and brought it’s tail to bear. Thinking quickly, I dodged to the side, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw the manticore’s tail embedded into the ground where I had been standing but a moment before. I braced myself for another attack, but it never came. Looking over in surprise, I noted that the manticore was having some trouble getting it’s tail out of the ground. ‘Now is my chance to get out of here!’ Was the first thought that entered my mind. However, that thought was quickly crushed down and replaced by a cold, calculative anger. ‘No… this creature dared to attack me and now is the time to strike’ I thought with grim resolve. ‘Its time for you to pay, you filthy animal’ I thought darkly. With this in mind and assured by fact that the manticore was immobilized, I prepared for a counterattack and guided by what can only be called instinct, brought my tail upward into a arch over my head. As soon as my tail was in position, time seemed to stop and the world appeared gray. By some odd compulsion, I mimicked making a slashing motion with my tail in the direction of the manticore’s immobilized appendage. To my surprise, when I did this, a line of red ink appeared overtop of the manticore’s tail, almost as if I were an artist with the world as my canvas. When I brought my tail back down, time seemed to resume as color flooded back into the world. Then, ‘Shing!’ the manticore’s tail severed from the rest of its body as an invisible blade cut through like a hot knife through butter. The manticore roared in agony and lunged at me, intent on sharing it’s pain. With the haze of battle fogging my mind, I felt a wicked grin appear on my face as I moved slightly to the side and brought Nine Strike to bear. The blade seemed to glow with malevolence as I swung it towards the manticore’s face, with the blade returning to it’s place on my back as I finished the motion. For a moment, nothing happened and everything was still. Then, with a look of shock, the manticore’s head was suddenly split in two, pouring blood and brain matter onto the ground. ‘Serves it right, it should have known better than to attack me’ I thought in smug satisfaction, crushing down any guilt I might have felt at the act. Gazing at the corpse of my fallen foe, I moved my gaze away from the dead manticore and went to the middle of the clearing to sit down. Musing over the events of the battle, I pondered where that strange power had come from. ‘It seems to be related to my tails… such a power will be useful in the future’ I mused. ‘I need to think of a name for such a technique, perhaps-’ Before I could sink further into my thoughts however, a low growl came from around the edges of clearing. Jumping to my paws, I observed the newcomers cautiously. A pack of wooden wolves had surrounded the clearing, snarling in hostility. ‘Wooden wolves...perhaps, Timberwolves?’ I thought, quickly coming up with the name. I observed them with slight curiosity, which was quickly overshadowed by annoyance as the timberwolves moved closer towards my position. ‘I'm not in the mood for this’ I thought harshly, before raising myself to full height. ‘Leave!’ I thought, and let loose the most menacing roar I could. While the volume of the roar was intimidating enough on its own, it was how the roar seemed to warp the light spectrum, causing everything to glow a dark crimson that ultimately did the job. The wolves cowered in fear before breaking apart. Staring in slight bewilderment at the remains of the timberwolves, I let out a sigh. ‘I have lingered here long enough, I need to get out of this blasted forest…’ ‘Perhaps I can find a city or town nearby, a map would be useful’ With that in mind, I chose a random direction and set off. Author's Note Okay SupriseKitty redid the chapter and is helping with all future works. He has been a huge help to me and im very grateful to him. Don't worry though this won't affect the plot in any big ways.
A Castle In The WoodsAfter what seemed like hours of uneventful trudging through the forest I came upon a clearing. It was unremarkable in every way except for the castle sitting in the middle of the clearing. As I sat at the edge of the forest I couldn't help but wonder if it belonged to anyone. If it didn't I could use it as a shelter and base until I found somewhere more suitable. If it did I could only hope that they would be nice to little lonely fox demon. Wait demon, where did that term come from? I sat there and pondered this but like my old name and everything else related to my past I could not recall anything, it was just a blank. As I sat there trying and failing to figure out my past I noticed a guard walking around the edges of the castle walls. He was a pony clad in armor and carrying some kind of weapon. Despite my excellent sight the angle of where I was in relation to where he was made it difficult to determine his weapon. I was at an impasse, I could approach and try to communicate with the guard. However I didn't know if I could speak at all. Even if I could the guard might not understand me, and then again even if he did he might just run me off. 'sigh' “If only I could speak” I said my voice a surprisingly deep. That was, surprising to say the least. I wasn't even sure I could speak. Now the only problem was whether or not these ponies could understand me. Well I wasn't making any progress where I was so I decided to approach and come what may. I made my way around the castle until I was in position to approach the main gate. As I made my way up to the main gate I couldn't help but notice the guards react to my approach. “Halt who goes there!” A voice proclaimed leading me to believe he was in charge. “I am but a mere traveler with no home to return to and place for my weary head.” I responded to the guard hoping I would not be turned away. That would be...unpleasant for them and me. More so for them however. As I was musing I couldn't help but notice that there was one less guard on the tower. “We have sent word to the princesses please remain where you are!” the voice called down to me. 'Well it's progress' I thought to myself. Then suddenly the gates opened up to reveal two much taller and regal looking ponies. One was as white as the purest light with a flowing mane. She seemed to radiate sunlight and warmth. However I noticed something else about her. A certain tension one that comes with bearing the responsibility of many on your shoulders. As well as a willingness to defend them with all your heart. The other was a comforting dark blue with a flowing mane that seemed to be made of starlight. She seemed to be more relaxed than the other one, but I could tell that she seemed to be agitated about something. “Hello friend” spoke the white one “I am princess Celestia, this guard has informed me you have arrived at our gate in search of shelter.” “Indeed I have” I stated giving a slight bow to show respect. “I have no place to call home and nothing to call my own.” “How sad.” Stated the blue princess. “Indeed I was hoping that you could be so kind as to spare some shelter for a little while.” “Certainly you can stay as long as you need to however I did not catch your name.” While Celestia spoke the blue star pony nodded in agreement. 'I did not offer it, It is Ninetails by the way” I could see on the star princesses face that she was thoroughly amused at my name. “Well then Ninetails come inside we have much to discuss.” At this she turned and went inside. I fell in behind them wondering how this would work out. I thought that maybe there were other creatures like me but then I quickly crushed that thought for some reason. As we walked though the castle I decided to take stock of the situation. I was alone had no memories. To top it all off I had no idea where I was. The castle was nice enough I guess. I didn't have anything to compare it to though so I really didn't know. We eventually arrived at a long and wide room with two thrones at the end one had a sun above it the other a moon. The two princesses sat on one throne each the golden one sat under the sun the blue one under the moon. “Now then Ninetails I can't help but wonder what are you? I do hope its not impolite of me to ask.” Celestia said. “Not at all however I must admit that....” I say my voice trailing off. A single thought raced through my head. Would they accept me as a demon? “You do not remember?” She asked. “It is not that your majesty it is just that well....” I trail off letting my head droop. “Its not important anyhow.” Celestia stated ending the matter. I kept a neutral face. It wasn't hard to do with my mask. I noticed Luna seemed to want to continue the matter however she did not openly challenge Celestia for the answer. “What is importiant now is the matter of your lodging.” Celestia looked at me with concern. I chalked it up to that they probably didn't know what kind of bed I would be comfortable in. I could probably fit in any sized bed they had if I didn't have these tails. I love them to death but having nine tails, each as long as you was proving to be quite a pain. However at this point I was not picky and would sleep on a stone floor if it meant shelter. “As long as I have a roof and four walls I will be fine for tonight.” I stated. I could see my statement eased the distress of the princess. “Then I will have a guard escort you to the guest room.” She clapped her hooves together and a guard walked up to me and motioned for me to follow. “If you would like to leave your sword somewhere the armory is just up ahead.” The guardspony stated. “No thank you I will keep it with me.” I stated flatly cutting off that topic. 'Why is he so keen to relieve me of my sword'. We kept walking in silence until we arrived at the guest room. Well one of them there were several guest rooms in the castle as to be expected of royalty. They probably had ambassadors from other countries arrive for political reasons. “Well here you are. I do hope you find everything to be up to your satisfaction sir.” With that he left me to attend to his other duties. I entered the room using one of my tails to turn the knob. What greeted me was a nice and almost quaint little room. The only thing it had in it was a bed, a bedside table, and a lamp sitting on the table. Getting into bed was a little awkward for me but I managed. As I curled up on the bed wrapping me tails around myself I smiled. Tomorrow would be a very busy day. Author's Note Sorry for the wait I do hope you guys like it. side note I start work tomorrow. woo
Building BridgesI awoke the next morning feeling much better than I did when I first awoke in the forest. Well I still had no memories or idea where I was but I felt better to say the least. I stretched out on the bed and started grooming my tails. I don't really know why I started this but it was a relaxing venture to say the least. It was however, a time consuming process. After an hour of careful hard work I had finished my task. My tails looked much better and I also felt better. It was then that the door to my room slowly opened. 'Talk about timing'. “Um mister Ninetails I was sent to fetch you when you are ready to see the princesses.” The servant was quite nervous. I didn't quite get why as I had done nothing to suggest I would be hostile. I arose from the bed and made my way over to her. She stared intently at the floor and looked surprised when I placed one of my tails under her chin and gently raised her head to look at me. “Well then lead on my dear.” I said simply looking into her eyes to show there was no need to fear me. If I had know how this day would end I wouldn't have bothered trying to change her perception of me. After this she lead me through the castle and we arrived at a the main hall where the princesses were already sitting on their respective thrones. “Aha Ninetails good to see you. I trust you had a good night?” Luna was positively brimming with excitement. Probably because unlike when we first met I had all day to answer any questions they might have. I bowed a little to show respect. “Yes I did have a good night.” I said smiling. I wondered if they could see my smile through my mask. 'Probably not, they probably think I don't show emotion, pity'. I could tell they wanted to ask more questions of me but I needed to know a few things first. “I hate to seem like a burden but I don't actually know where I am.” I stated wanting to get the awkward questions out of the way first. This did seem to surprise the princesses as they assumed I would have such rudimentary knowledge such as the country I was currently in. “Of course I didn't realize that you didn't know.” Celestia said her eyes widening at the realization. After that she set about explaining Equestria as well as the surrounding countries. To the north was the Crystal Empire. It was ruled by king Sombra. Apparently the two sisters didn't like him at all. To the east was the Griffin kingdom. Ruled by Royal Feather it seemed to have strained relationships with Equestria. To the West was the badlands apparently. No one seemed to know what lived there as no pony who went in came out. As of yet the southern border was largely unexplored because of the Everfree Forest. I could see why they didn't try to go through it. I could handle myself against the few monsters I had met in the forest but I wasn't sure if I could keep my winning streak up. Also I imagined that most of these ponies were not as strong as me. After they finished their explanation of Equestria and the surrounding nations the conversation went to its next logical topic, me. I can't say I didn't try to answer the questions they asked. Its just that my only memories they didn't know about were me waking up realizing I had no memory and the manticore attack. They pressed me quite a bit on my powers once they heard about them. “So what exactly is this power you wield?” Luna asked me. I shifted from one paw to another unsure about how to answer that question. 'What exactly is my power?' I looked up and decided to share what I knew. “As far as I can tell the power is related to my tails. When I used my power the world appeared gray and still. Moving my tail above my head seemed to draw on the world with red ink.” 'Blood' my thoughts whispered correcting me. “After I drew the line time and color seemed to catch up to me and where I drew the line the manticores tails was cleaved apart.” “This is an interesting development.” Celestia quipped. I nodded in agreement as much as I probably should have used caution to hide my abilities I felt it only right to be honest. “Can you demonstrate this ability for us to see?” Luna asked. I thought about it. 'It can't hurt'. 'On the other paw what would I cut...for that matter what else can I do'. I pondered this for a while before deciding I could demonstrate my ability. “I would like to but what would I use it on? I don't want to damage anything important.” I asked. Luna considered this before Celestia spoke. “Well I happen to have an apple here that I wish was in cut half but it seems that my chefs didn't do so.” She cheerily pointed out. I chuckled a bit despite myself. Celestia placed the apple on the ground a good ten feet from me. I began to wonder if I could actually replicate that power. After that moment of contemplation I decided to proceed. Raising one of my tails above my head in a motion that, even though I had only done it once before under extreme pressure, felt completely natural. After my tail was in position the world entered a familiar state of grays and stillness. I “drew” a red line across the apple and when I was finished a familiar sight greeted me. The world seemed to catch up with me as color and motion flooded back into the world. The apple suddenly seemed to develop a split cleanly where my line had been drawn. The two sisters look in shock at the now bisected apple. “So what did you see?” I asked curious to see if they had experienced time the same way I did. The sisters looked at each other and then Luna spoke up. “I did not see anything like what you described to us.” She started slowly. “What I saw was you moved your tail then it twitched and the apple was cleaved in two.” The three of us sat there contemplating what was just said. 'She didn't see the color fade or return. What does that mean'. I guessed it meant that for me time stopped while for everyone else nothing stopped at all. I was pondering what that meant when a guard burst into the room. From the looks of him he had been flying for quite some distance. All eyes were on him as he spoke. “Princesses...I..bring news fromponyville...the local...local Ursa population is going..wild!” He tried to say everything in one breath but his exhaustion meant he could only speak in short bursts. Celestia and Luna seemed shocked at the news. However it did not prevent them from giving orders and taking command. A thing I was beginning to admire about them. “Send a full regiment of guards to ponyville at once.” Celestia commanded with all the air of authority she could muster. Which was quite a lot. “Princess allow me to repay you for your kindness by helping with this problem.” I said stepping forward. Celestia and Luna turned and kinda just stared at me. I will admit the fact I couldn't read the expressions on their faces was quite disturbing to me. “Sister what do you think?” Celestia turned to Luna looking for a second opinion to help base hers on. “I believe we should allow our guest to help if he is willing to.” As Luna spoke her voice seemed unusually measured. Celestia considered this before speaking. “I agree with you sister. Very well Ninetails if you wish to assist the guard I will not stop you.” She stated. I bowed slightly and then proceeded following the guard to where they were gathering. If I had know the repercussions of trying to help these ponies. I wouldn’t have even bothered.
Burning bridgesAuthor's Note Sorry for the delay but figuring out how to end this chapter was a bitch. In the end I went for a lead in to the next chapter. Have fun. Burning bridges I sat in the courtyard near the main gate with the guards who were going to dispatched to deal with the threat that was recently revealed. I sat to the rear of the group simply because I was taller and wanted a bit of space for my tails. I could see the guards around me were concerned about having me acompany them. It irked me but I did understand where they were coming from. The the captain of the operation arrived and stood upon the little makeshift stand that had been made for the briefing. “Alright listen up. We are going to be deployed to Ponyville in order to protect them from the Ursa Major threat. I know many of you have never seen an Ursa let alone faced one in battle but take heart. They may bigger than us and stronger than us but we are smarter than them. They cannot plan.” He gave his speech as he pace back and forth. I could see it was having the desired effect on the gathered bodies present. Even I had to admit it was a little inspirational. After the briefing the captain took me aside to ask a question. “Look I personally don't care who or what you are, however my soldiers are a little antsy about your coming with us, I was wondering if you could do something about that. I don't like my soldiers nervous.” I placed a paw on my chin in thought. 'What he says is true, and I don't want to cause problems. What can I do?' Change your form. 'What? Who keeps saying that? Also how do I do that?' Simply focus on your desired form and you will change into it. It was getting kinda creepy how this strange voice had all these answers. The only reason I wasn't completely freaking out over it was that it didn't seem to try to influence my decisions. It only seemed to give me advice on my abilities. Like an instinct given a voice. 'Maybe its a piece of my past that is still with me'. After musing on that for a few seconds I decided to try shifting my form into something less obtrusive. I thought about becoming a smaller one tailed fox. As I concentrated I felt myself shrink. I opened my eyes to the captain looking at me his jaw on the floor. “Wow.” Was the extent of his vocabulary at that moment. I let out a small chuckle. “I do hope this will be satisfactory captain. I don't really know what else I can do.” 'Maybe shape shift into one of the guard. But then they would notice I'm not there. No that wouldn't work'. “Y-yes I believe that will work.” He stammered as surprised as I was with my new found ability. A few hours later me and the guards arrived at Ponyville without incident. We went into the town and greeted the various ponies that called it home. A few questions about me arose but the captain dismissed them by calling me an “adviser”. I almost laughed at that. Me a demon that has no memory before I awoke in a clearing an “adviser”. Still it made sense to say. I sighed inwardly. Why am I even here? Not being able to answer that question I simply let it slide. Hours later night had fallen upon us. I had hoped for a quiet uneventful night. Alas it seems fate said “fuck you”. This particular fuck you came in the form of a massive purple star bear tearing out of the forest and smashing directly into the town. I ran from my post to see it. This thing was big...no it was beyond huge. The guards were trying and failing to contain it. I decided to try my luck and delivered a slash to the creatures eye. It responded by roaring and charging me. Aw crap. I attempted to dodge however the massive bear was simply too big. The resulting slap sent me through an entire building. Anger filled me as I rose. HOW DARE YOU! How dare you attack me you pathetic creature! I charged the beast summoning a ball of flame by drawing a infinity symbol. I followed this up with a spiral that summoned a gust of wind pushing the ball of flame at the massive bear. It collided but didn't have the desired effect at all. My attack only served to enrage the creature further. It rampaged at me once again however this time I was ready. Darkness swirled around me as I released my disguise and revealed my true form. My tails lashed around in anticipation of the pain I was going to inflict upon my foe. I heard some unintelligible screams off to my sides. I paid them no mind as I was far too focused on my prey. The world turned gray and my tails began to draw furiously. When I had finished a torrent of the elements was unleashed. Lightning danced from the sky. Fire danced and burned. Ice pierced and melted. Rain attempted to douse the flames but was fought by the wind which only served to fan them. The ursa roared in pain as nature itself heeded my call to kill it. After what felt like an eternity it finally fell. As tiring as it was to go all out like that I one more thing I needed to do. I readied nine-strike as I approached the beast. It looked up at me with a look. I guess it was trying to beg for its life. It was short lived as I brought my blade down and removed its head. The beasts blood went everywhere. After the thing was felled I took stock of the surrounding area. The village was gone. My fury and power had leveled the whole thing. A few small fires danced. I called forth a rainstorm to put out the fire. After dousing the flames I began to look around. The village was reduced to little more than rubble. I couldn’t see a single survivor. Making my way through the rubble and carnage I came upon many bodies. Some mangled by fire and debris that you wouldn’t recognize them. Others looked like they had simply fallen asleep. I wandered through the carnage thinking about the loss of life. It was all my fault. Yet I felt no guilt. I was saddened by the loss of life. Yet I did not feel the guilt I would have associated with such an action. Before I could think upon this any further a voice I had hoped to not hear spoke up from behind me. “What happened here?” It almost cracked and lost its regal sound but in the end it held firm.
