Wandering Prey

by JakeTheBrony

Rating: teen
Tags: Alternate Universe, Human, Main 6, Applejack, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Other, Romance, Adventure
Length: 8422

A mage named Aiden flees to Equestria undercover attempting to avoid a gruesome group of hunters. Are there others? Will he survive?

Aiden escapes Earth to flee from a group of hunters after his life since he had turned eighteen. He hopes that this is the last time he has to travel to another world.

Enjoying what little peace he has in isolation within the Everfree Forest, Aiden makes himself a home using his own hands and magic. Hopefully the inhabitants of this world don't mind a bit of magic...

Art by: VoidHeart (inactive)

Editors/Pre-Readers: ChaosPaladin and Soaring.

Published 2014-03-11 23:00:07 UTC
Last updated 2023-11-10 23:18:16 UTC

Chapter 1

Author's Note

Chapter 1 has been re-written!

IT HAS BEEN AGES!

Please notify me of any small grammatical errors.

Also I kinda suck at writing the ponies, but I'll humbly accept any advice and/or criticism since I've been out of the loop for YEARS.

Chapter 1

The house was quiet. Aiden peered in through the windows to see the inside was dark. He rapped his knuckles on the door, which produced a hollow thunking sound. Where is this guy? Is he home or not? No… no he has to be.

He reached for the knob and turned it — CLICK— Aiden sighed and fiddled with the lock again. CLICK… CLACK CLACK. He groaned and stepped away from the door. Of course the door wouldn’t open because the damned fool locked it! Just what was he up to? Another one of his crazy weekend rituals?

Rituals… Oh no.

A spell to release the lock ought to do it then. With a few whispered words, he pointed his finger at the lock.

Click. The door creaked open.

Aiden stepped inside and closed the door behind him. Thud… thud… thud… The hollowed sounds his feet made with each step made him wince. He waved his finger through the air and his feet glowed for a moment. He took another step.

Silence. Muffled steps. Stealthed.

Back to the task at hand.

Aiden knew Connor was somewhere in the house, but where? He walked across the darkened living room to the hallway. Scanning each side of the hall, he noticed the rooms with their doors open and one haphazardly torn from its hinge. He slowly crept through the hall, turning off the bathroom light along the way. Nothing seemed out of place in Connor’s room when Aiden popped his head in for a peak. His friend’s books and tools were all neatly straightened out on his desk and shelves. Certainly not in his room, though it seems as though nobody was even in there to begin with. Was he always neater than him?

He made his way to his own room. Nothing out of the ordinary here either. Same tidiness as before, albeit a bit littered with notes and discarded draft paper. That’ll be a yes, but no dice here either. Aiden turned to the loosely hanging door.

One might wonder: why did Aiden check the other rooms first? That door always had an issue with its hinges for some ungodly reason, and magic never seemed to fix it. Or at least it would seem that Aiden had fixed it, but hanging off its hinges the very next moment. He suspected Connor was always playing a prank, and he’d be right. Although, this time was different. This time it looked like brute force beat the door to a splintery pulp.

Approaching the room , he heard a woman groan in pain in the room behind the dilapidated door. “Isabelle?!” He rushed through the door, lightly brushing himself on it only for it to crash to the ground immediately. Aiden saw her lying on the floor, barely regaining consciousness. “Are you okay?” He said, scooping her into his arms.

She looked up at him with a light blush. “Y-yeah. It’s just a few bruises.”

“What happened?” He looked over the room. The sigil on the floor was scorched and holes littered the walls. The shelves were in splinters, but more importantly… “The grimoire!?” That accursed black book was missing from the room.

Isabelle’s eyes fell. “H-he… Connor took the grimoire I was trying to dispose of as you asked. He disrupted my spell, and this mess is the result.” She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m sorry. I-I failed to stop him.” She flew up from Aiden’s arms, her face downcast.

Aiden gently lifted her head. “You did what you could. Right now I need to go after Connor.”

That damned book drew out his greatest desire for deeper secrets of the arcane. It drove him into a spiral of madness.

Not for a moment could he put it down. He would bury his face between the pages for days, unresponsive to others, but lash out when either Aiden and Isabelle tried to dispose of it initially.

Isabelle’s ability to curate corrupted minds slowly became ineffective. He swore up and down the street, from the heavens to the earth that there were voices in his head. They told him of unimaginable power and secrets that only he could be trusted with.

The black book of demonic arts truly was the final nail in the coffin for his friend.

He had to find it and have it destroyed and save Connor.

Isabelle spoke up, breaking Aiden from his thoughts. “You go after him, Ma-... Aiden. He’s in the basement,” she said, taking in the sorry state of the space around them. “I’ll remain here and clean the impurities lingering in this room.”

He nodded and headed for the doorway.

“A-also,” Aiden halted, “t-that thing… is not Connor.” Her voice cracked. “I-I’m sorry.”

He slowly exited the room without saying a word.

Aiden headed directly to the basement door across the living room. He placed his hand on the knob and sighed. He could probably save his friend.

He hoped it wasn’t too late.

Aiden turned the knob and pushed the door open. He stared down the staircase entrance to the basement. His eyes went wide, seeing a soft green glow emanate from the base of the stairs. He slowly made his way down, cursing the object of his despair in the back of his mind.

That damned book.

Demonic hellspawn.

Give me back my friend.

Why does such a wretched thing exist?

When he made it to the bottom, Aiden’s fears were confirmed.

Connor was hovering in the air, his back arched and arms splayed out. Spirits of demons and the damned flooded the space, swirling around Connor and the open book on the ground. Aiden’s eyes widened at the sight before him, and his jaw fell agape. That accursed black book was the root of it all, the damned thing had overtaken his closest, and only human friend.

Thinking quickly, Aiden growled and curled his fingers into a fist. He gritted his teeth and began to surge his mana into his hand, forming a white glow around it. After a moment, the magical aura erupted and his arm extended out towards Connor. It wrapped around his friend’s body, before burning the moment into his eyes. The sudden brightness stung his eyes, but he couldn’t look away. Once it had faded and his vision cleared, he noticed that Connor hadn’t changed his position. The spirits seemed to swirl around more violently, echoes of screams from the damned souls bounced and reverberated off the walls.

“You can’t have him!” Aiden shouted to the possessed body of what was once his friend.

“Interesting,” A distorted voice of Connor murmured. “You seem to think highly of this hollow mage. And he thought so… highly of you.”

Aiden feared that his friend was gone, but he had to do something, if anything at all. “Connor, stop what you’re doing, it’s not too late!” he shouted over the shrieks of the spirits rushing around the room.

“Connor is no more. It is only… us!” Connor’s body spun around in the air to face Aiden. His eyes had gone dark, and streaks of blood ran down his cheeks. A manic grin stretched across his face, which was filled to the brim with sharpened teeth.

There was only one way he could be freed from the evil being. That book, that grimoire as it was called, was something that Connor should never have gotten his hands on. It was akin to poison, and now that poison had taken his soul.

Without hesitation, Aiden put his hand out. A small ball of light formed in his palm. The mage curled his fingers around it, tightening it into a fist once more. He poured more power into the spell this time.

Aiden furiously charged after his now possessed friend. Connor levitated backwards, separating Aiden from him. It nearly pressed up against the wall, hovering in place. Shapeless dark energy morphed into the shape of a claw, and ravenously swiped at Aiden.

With the agility only given by several years of experience, he threw his body left then right to narrowly dodge the demon’s attacks. He continued to rush forward as the assaulting claw turned into a tendril that swept at him. He jumped, rolled, and tumbled forward until the distance between him and the demon was close to nothing. With a sudden leap, Aiden flew forward into the air, and slammed his magic-charged palm against the demon’s head. Connor’s body was engulfed by the bright light Aiden struck him with and started to dissolve.

The flash of light slowly dissipated, leaving behind only a scorched outline of the form that once occupied the space. Aiden landed on the ground and straightened his posture. He stared at the remnants of his deceased friend and gritted his teeth.

“I’m sorry, Connor.” Aiden held back a tear, frustrated at Connor’s unfortunate fate. He believed, at least in that moment, that ending his friend’s suffering was for the best rather than allowing his pain to be prolonged. “It had to be done,” he muttered.

Aiden’s eyes shifted over to the accursed grimoire that laid open on the ground. With a simple flick of his hand, a spark of blue aura flickered around it, causing the book to slam shut. He slowly walked over and picked it up. The mage stared at the eerie black cover. A pentagram was embroidered on the hard cover with an upside down cross in front of it. Aiden reflected on the events that had just transpired.

“This book shall never again see the light of day,” he declared to himself. With that, he tucked the book underneath his arm. As Aiden made his exit, he turned his head to the side and said solemnly, “You are free now.”

*****

Aiden’s eyes shot open. What was that just now? A bad dream? A memory? He couldn’t tell, but something about it felt familiar as he brought a hand to his head. He sucked in what could be his final breath, even if it wasn’t. Wiping his forehead of the beads of sweat that made trails down his face, he looked around, or at least tried to. There was a blurriness in his vision that he needed to blink away first. When that didn’t work he rubbed them and let out a heavy sigh.

It felt much too real to be a dream. Everything around him felt tangible. A chill ran down his spine at the strange recollection of images that ran in his mind. If it was only a dream, then why did he feel so uneasy? He shook his head and patted his cheeks.

With a much more shallow breath, he shakily stood up from his chair. He took a look back at the clutter on his desk. Various books and pages were strewn about the surface. There were some other parchments tacked onto a bulletin board that stood adjacent to the desk. One particular book stood out to him though. A blue book that cushioned his head while he slept was splayed open. Its pages beckoned to him to read its contents as he stared at it.

Giving into the temptation, he walked back over to his chair and sat down. He flipped through the pages until it landed on a page filled with notes. Notes he had drafted of this world. They read as followed:

𝓟𝓸𝓷𝓲𝓮𝓼

𝓟𝓮𝓰𝓪𝓼𝓾𝓼

𝓒𝓪𝓷 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓹𝓾𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓮 𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻

𝓥𝓮𝓻𝔂 𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓬

𝓢𝓲𝔁 𝓯𝓽. 𝓦𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼𝓹𝓪𝓷 ( 𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓮𝓮 𝓯𝓽. 𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝔀𝓲𝓷𝓰)

𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓷

𝓗𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓪𝓫𝓲𝓵𝓲𝓽𝔂 𝓽𝓸 𝓾𝓼𝓮 𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓬

𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓲𝓷 𝓿𝓪𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓬

𝓦𝓪𝓽𝓬𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓷

𝓔𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓱𝓹𝓸𝓷𝔂

𝓣𝓮𝓷𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓫𝓮 𝓼𝓽𝓻𝓸𝓷𝓰𝓮𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓹𝓮𝓰𝓪𝓼𝓲 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓾𝓷𝓲𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓼

𝓐𝓽𝓽𝓾𝓷𝓮𝓭 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓮𝓪𝓻𝓽𝓱

𝓓𝓸𝓷'𝓽 𝓰𝓮𝓽 𝓫𝓾𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓭 𝓫𝔂 𝓸𝓷𝓮

𝓐𝓵𝓲𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓷

𝓟𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓯𝓾𝓵

𝓒𝓪𝓹𝓪𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓰𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓶𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 𝓯𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓼 𝓽𝓱𝓪𝓷 𝓾𝓷𝓲𝓬𝓸𝓻𝓷𝓼 (𝓒𝓪𝓷 𝓶𝓸𝓿𝓮 𝓢𝓾𝓷 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓜𝓸𝓸𝓷)

𝓡𝓮𝓰𝓪𝓵 (𝓡𝓸𝔂𝓪𝓵𝓽𝔂)

𝓐𝓰𝓪𝓲𝓷, 𝔀𝓪𝓽𝓬𝓱 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓱𝓸𝓻𝓷

𝓣𝓲𝓶𝓫𝓮𝓻𝔀𝓸𝓵𝓿𝓮𝓼

𝓜𝓪𝓭𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓬𝓱𝓾𝓷𝓴𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝔀𝓸𝓸𝓭 (𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓪𝓻𝓴)

𝓥𝓲𝓬𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼

𝓣𝓮𝓷𝓪𝓬𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼

𝓖𝓸𝓵𝓮𝓶𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓼𝓾𝓹𝓮𝓻 𝓮𝓯𝓯𝓮𝓬𝓽𝓲𝓿𝓮

𝓢𝓾𝓼𝓬𝓮𝓹𝓽𝓲𝓫𝓵𝓮 𝓽𝓸 𝓯𝓲𝓻𝓮 (𝓢𝓮𝓮𝓶𝓼 𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯 𝓬𝓻𝓾𝓮𝓵...𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓭 𝓸𝓯)

As Aiden skimmed through them, they seemed a bit… crude when he first wrote them out. They still, however, helped him navigate the world he now resided in. It was nothing like the world he previously lived in with Connor. His thoughts were drawn back to that… dream? The feeling of how real it was shook him.

Shaking his head, he brought his focus back to his notes. He flipped through multiple pages, and back through to search for a specific page. Page after page, he flipped until he finally found what he was looking for. Throwing a finger onto the page, Aiden traced the words on the page until he saw the name. “Equestria,” he said to himself with a light chuckle. “Makes sense that a bunch of ponies would be roaming this land. The name says it all.”

He stood up from his chair, and closed the book. The clutter on his desk started to organize as he waved a finger through the air. Magic was handy for simple tasks like this. Kind of trivialized a lot of them if he was being honest. Almost made him worried he might get too lazy one day, and find himself picking cheetos from a bowl as it rested on his stomach. To keep himself sharp he usually made sure he kept up with physical activities such as a nightly jog, or hanging upside down as he did curls. Hey, it helps.

When he walked over to the door he held out his finger again and ran it through one of the recesses of the center panel. He poured a bit of mana to activate the mechanisms in the door. A blue light slowly flowed through the recesses between the panels until he heard a click. It creaked open and he made his way out into the main living space. The door slowly closed while he waited until it clicked again. A practical way to keep your lab and personal study secure.

The room was lit up with some light fixtures powered by electricity that was supplied by magic. Where did the magic supply come from? Some special catalyst gems he brought from Earth. Aiden certainly was beside himself once he finally got it working too. Especially after he almost fibrillated his heart during the process. A lesson learned in electrical work for him: wear gloves.

He proceeded through the living room past the sofa, past a small coffee table — don’t hit that knee again — and past the hall to the front door. Just before he made his exit he reached into his coat to pull out a bright blue potion he homebrewed. He popped off the cork, and took a whiff. It didn’t smell too bad, but the taste was that of the tanginess of tartar sauce mixed with age old ranch dressing. Aiden slowly brought the bottle to his lips, and tilted it slightly. He allowed the blue liquid to flow into his mouth, and winced as the liquid made contact with his taste buds. He let out a long winded gag, nearly causing the liquid to shoot from his nasal cavities. That would have been a HORRIBLE time.

“Eugh! That taste is just as bad as ever.” he said with a raspy breath.

A few moments went by until a burning pain shocked his body. Aiden’s limbs slowly started to change shape. The bones in his body twisted and shifted until they were completely rearranged. His body grew fur and a tail, and his hands and feet became hooves. This would be the worst pain ever, but Aiden has suffered torture worse than this. It was all part of the trade, so he had to get used to it, especially after three years.

The potion had completely turned him into a white, unicorn pony with a brown mane and tail and light blue eyes. His clothes slipped off his form to reveal a circle of runes with an open book in the center on his flank.

After the transformation was done Aiden let out a pain-filled groan. “If only I could make that process less painful.” He reached out his forelegs and stretched, and did the same for his hind legs. His gaze fell upon his clothes that now lay on the ground by his hooves. A frown crossed his muzzle. If only his attire fit around his ponified self.

Aiden, now temporarily a unicorn, faced the door before him. He focused his magic onto the door knob, causing a bright blue aura to glow around his horn. With a simple thought, the knob twisted, and the door opened. Aiden made his way out the door and, with another simple focused use of magic, he moved his clothes onto a small clothesline by the door. He proceeded to close the entrance before turning to face his various summoned servants.

No pony dared to traverse this ominous place, save for one particular zebra that lived in a different part of the forest. Anyone that did enter the forest and traveled deep enough were greeted by Aiden’s summoned servants. Among these creatures were phantasmal, hooded beings called Watchers, and golems summoned from various materials such as stone, rock, and the occasional collection of scrap. The final creature that patrolled the perimeter of his abode were Sentinels. Ethereal shadows that were tasked with wiping ponies’ — if any — memories and depositing them back at the entrance of the forest. Only if they got within the perimeter of his house of course.

Aiden whistled to call for his minions’ attention. They all gathered around him to receive their orders. “You all know what to do while I’m gone,” He stated as he held up a hoof, “No one is to get near this vicinity, period! Remember!” He pointed a hoof specifically to the golems, “No harming the ponies if one happens to be wandering around and gets too close! Got that? Just wipe their memories, and bring them back to the entrance.” His responses were hisses, whispers, and groans of acknowledgement. “Dismissed.”

With that, Aiden trotted off, making his way towards the town of Ponyville.

*****

Before Aiden entered Ponyville, he remembered… something. No, he realized he forgot something crucial. A couple of tools that he had regularly used on his usual jaunts through town were not with him.

He blinked a few times and groaned, his ears drooping downward. “I forgot my pencil and notepad.” He said under his breath. Before he gave into his moment of defeat, he perked his head up. He was a magician, a unicorn right now, but a magician nonetheless. Taking in a deep breath, he closed his eyes and grunted in concentration. A pen and notepad briefly flickered into existence, but faded away.

Aiden panted and brought a forehoof to his head. “This is much, much harder than I thought it was going to be.” Oh yes it was indeed.

This time, however, they were fading in and became more solid. Just as he was about to reach out a forehoof for them, they popped back to their place of storage. He yelped and fell to the ground, muzzle first.

“Mmmmph.” He painfully groaned into the pillow of grass and dirt.

Aiden picked his head up. “P’tugh! Puh puh. Leafy greens are not part of my usual diet,” he stated flatly to himself. It was really a bad time for his memory to rot this early in his life. “Ugh. Guess I gotta go back then.” He got back onto his hooves and turned around, grumbling to himself as he went back home.

When he got back to his house, he stumbled inside and went into his bedroom. Just like he tried earlier, he attempted a simple levitation spell. “Please work.” His horn lit up in a blue aura. A pen and notepad lifted off the nightstand next to his bed alongside a small saddlebag.

He sighed in relief. “Thank goodness I can at least manage this.” He’d really stick out like a sore thumb if he couldn’t. Or hoof. Foreleg? Flank? Whatever.

With the stationery packed away, Aiden set back out for Ponyville.

Aiden arrived at the small bridge near Fluttershy’s cottage with the most unintuitive and unusual sign posted next to it:

ɘǫɒƚƚoƆ ꙅ'ʏʜꙅɿɘƚƚu|ꟻ ↓

ǝllıʌʎuoԀ ←

“Has it always been like this?” He brought a hoof to his chin and leaned forward, his eyes glazing over the sign further. Then, his expression fell apart when he realized something important.

The sign was a recent aesthetic.

On the sign were two smoking guns: the first was a date—it was literally two days ago—while the second was a signature of someone with a mischievous nature. Aiden knew who he was, not that the creature needed an introduction. The goofball even had the audacity to post a small selfie of himself! He… wait, what was he called again? Memorizing the names of creatures in this world was always a tall task, and ones like him always slipped Aiden’s mind. Hm… what was his name? Aiden couldn’t figure it out, hoping that his rhythm tap-tap-taps to his noggin would hopefully clear his brain fog.

Then, a lightbulb turned on. It was obvious! It was— “A draconequus?” Yes, that was it!

A shiver ran down his spine. Aiden darted his eyes around in anticipation as if he was expecting him to appear and cause him anxiety. Not wanting to wait to see if anyone will show up, he high-tailed it across the bridge and into town.

As Aiden made his way through the town, a particular gray pegasus with a blonde mane. “Hi there uhm… I’m sorry, what's your name again?”

He blinked a few times. “Uh, Cipher.”

The mare smiled. “Oh, okay. How is your day going?”

“It’s, uh, going fine so far. Uhm…”

“Derpy,” she said, giving him a small smile. She tilted her head, before peering up at him. “It’s okay, you don’t have to be shy!”

He knew that. “I knew that.” Aiden facehooved—wait, no, facepalmed! He craned his head to see the road past her, then quickly pulled his gaze back to Derpy. “Anyway, how was your… day?”

“It’s good... I was just on my way to work,” she said, hanging her head a little lower. She looked around for a second, before returning back to him. “Was there somepony behind me?”

“J-just making sure nobo- nopony suspicious was trying to sneak up on you.” He coughed nervously into a forehoof. There might have been a bit of phlegm in that, but he couldn’t be bothered.

“Oh… okay!”

Beads of sweat formed on his head. Not only was this conversation awkward to all get out, he really wanted to get a move on. This polymorph potion has a set duration after all.

Derpy frowned. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Ehh… I could be better. Or not. It really depends—I-I’ve never been better!”

She raised a brow. “What?”

Aiden took a deep breath and wiped his brow. “Sorry. Just a bit nervous.”

“About what?”

“Oh, uh, well…” He trailed off, trying to find some sort of excuse. What would work this time? Hmm… noo, not the bees. That only stings—hmm… what about—he bit his lip and winced—hopefully that didn’t leave a mark—oh, wait! “Look uh, I’m a little busy actually. I have some errands to run, and I am sure you need to get to work.” He was really hoping this deflection would work.

“Okay then,” she said, before she scrunched her muzzle. She looked around and leaned close, beckoning Aiden with a hoof. He leaned forward and heard the mare whisper in his ear. “There’s been some weird guy walking around. He walks on two feet. Try to avoid him. He doesn’t like reading the mail, let alone receiving it.”

Aiden’s brows furrowed. “Weird guy who doesn’t like receiving mail?”

She nodded, a bit too fast. “Yeah! He had this nasty glare too. You know him?”

Aiden shook his head. “Not really, although I’ve heard of someone like him in passing here and there. I hope he didn’t hurt you at all.”

She waved her wings out in front of her, almost like she was trying to dismiss him. “No, no. He just glared at me and watched me when I delivered the mail last week. He’s just… weird.” She snorted. “I hope he doesn’t stare at me again like that.”

“He probably won’t—and if he does, you tell me about it, okay?”

Derpy nodded. “Okay! Thanks, Cipher!”

She waved and trotted past him, leaving Aiden gobsmacked. From what he gathered there was another human who mysteriously appeared in the last three months. The how part is what Aiden had been looking into, but his investigations bore little fruit.

Although something didn’t sit right with him, considering her answer. He noticed a limp in her step.

He looked down over his shoulder and spotted a bandage wrapped around one of her hind legs. Visible splotches of blood had seeped to the linens’ surface. He let out a heavy snort. Why didn’t she just use her wings if she was in so much pain?

He turned to her with furrowed brows before she got too far and called out, “Derpy.”

“Y-yes?” She meekly answered, turning around to face him.

He softened his expression. “Please don’t worry too much. I’ve been looking into him myself. Though I haven’t found any answers yet, just steer clear of him at all costs.”

Derpy looked down at her injured leg, deducing that he just noticed. She fixed her gaze back onto him. “A-are you sure? Nopony has been able to-”

He put a hoof out in front of her. “Trust me. I have my methods, and I will get to the bottom of this.” That was more of a half-truth. He didn’t exactly know how he was going to do it, but he was sure he would.

Derpy smiled softly and awkwardly pulled Aiden in for a hug. He wasn’t sure how to react to the sudden embrace, except to gently pat her head as a response. The emotions these moments of affection were lost on him nowadays.

“I trust you, even if some other ponies don’t think of you as friendly.” The mare said reassuringly before pulling away.

“I’m used to it.” He had to be though.

Isolation is a convenient but cruel mistress.

She giggled. “You’re a good pony.”

“Thanks I guess.” He wasn’t used to that. Receiving compliments or assurance wasn’t something he was used to for years now. Not since… happier times.

Some, or rather many, other ponies didn’t really have a positive view of Aiden. ‘Cipher’, if going by his pony name. He didn’t have the best interactions with others a lot of the time as he wasn’t a good conversation partner and had a bit of an attitude at times. The fact he was having a conversation with someone right now didn’t change that, nor would it.

…For now at least.

This could be because he liked to keep things brief, but he sometimes made an exception. Though it wasn’t something he liked to do, but felt like he had to.

He mentally frowned.

“Well, I’d better get going. Take care, !” She said, hastily taking off overhead.

He stood there and waved until she was out of sight. Making his way through the down, he remembered that Sugarcube Corner was just ahead. Great, the one place he hoped to bypass but can’t.

Aiden swiveled, shifting his gaze around as he trotted by the bakery. There was always one particular pony that he typically tried to avoid meeting every time he visited. It wasn’t that he found that pony annoying, rather he just didn’t enjoy parties too much. Well he used to enjoy parties, but not so much these days.

With his gaze fixed on the path ahead, he could see the next part of town. Nothing else mattered, he just wanted to get away from Sugarcube corner as quickly as possible. Well that would be possible if it wasn’t too late.

“Hiya!” Pinkie Pie excitedly greeted Aiden, popping into existence close enough for their muzzles to practically touch.

Too late.

He stared wide-eyed at the pink pony. “Oh. Hi?”

“Would you now please please please PLEASE consider having your Welcome Party now? It’ll be super spectacular, and what better way to get to know somepony new other than a party you know!?” She said, happily jumping up and down with little half-hops.

He shook his head. “No thank you.”

Pinkie’s mane flattened a little and her eyes downcast. “What would be the reason why?”

“I’m not really in the—”

“Really?” A voice was heard from above.

He looked up to see Rainbow Dash rush downward and slam onto the ground. Dust was kicked up from the earth, enough to make him cover his eyes with a forehoof. A moment went by, the clouds of dust settling to slowly reveal a very upset Rainbow Dash. Well that was putting it mildly. Her wings were flared out, eyes narrowed, and her gritted teeth made Aiden sweat nervously.

“Again?” She raised her voice. “Like, are you really turning down another one of her parties for the millionth time!?”

“Well I—”

She leaned her head in, expressing her . “I mean, her parties are awesome!”

Aiden scrunched his muzzle as she poked his chest with a forehoof. This conversation was already out of hand.

Aiden pushed Rainbow’s hoof away. “Please let me—”

“Nopony has ever turned down one of my parties before! But you turned them down for three years, four months, twenty three days, five hours, forty minutes, and fifteen seconds!”

“That was oddly specific.”

“Well duh! It’s because I know it.”

“I wasn’t asking.”

“Oh.”

“Wow, you’re really a jerk you know?” Rainbow still looked at Aiden angrily.

He gritted his teeth, growling at the slow waning of his patience. He attempted to push past them, but Rainbow pushed herself back in front of him. He scowled and brought a hoof to his head. “Just leave me alone and let me go about my day in peace. I can’t believe I’m even wasting my time here!”

Aiden’s outburst left him a little light-headed in heaves of breath, taking in as much air he could between each one.

Maybe they finally got the message this time?

Apparently it didn’t because Rainbow Dash wasn’t done scolding him yet.

Rainbow Dash took a defensive stance in front of Pinkie Pie. “What’s your problem anyway?!”

“What’s my problem? What’s my problem?! I don’t like it when I’m asked ‘Oh you want to party’ for the millionth time! It’s driving me crazy!” Aiden noticed the scornful looks from the onlookers, but kept his attention on the source of his frustration in front of him.

Dash’s glare sharpened. “Are you sure you’re not crazy already?”

He flinched at her continued reprimand and retorted. “I. Don’t. Want. A. Party! Listen, I came here to go about my day peacefully. The least you could do is allow me that much. I’m not receptive to pe-ponies asking me out of the blue.” He almost let it slip that he wasn’t really a pony.

She stuck a hoof into his muzzle as she narrowed her eyes. “She just wants to throw you a party! Is attending one measly party going to be the end of the world for you?”

He thought it over briefly and realized… No… no it wouldn’t.

To be honest, he did feel bad about going off on Pinkie, but he really just wanted to be left to his musings. He started to wonder why he even did it in the first place. After all, there really was no reason for it, and it sure as hell wasn’t intended. Though, intentions tend to differ from actions and their results, and his highway to hell might as well be paved.

Speaking of which, he kept the real him hidden just in case some unsavory people from his world ever made it over. As a precaution, in his eyes, he always kept his distance and observed from afar or undercover. He didn’t want the blame for the torment they would have to go through if that happened.

Maybe it wouldn’t matter. Or maybe it would? He couldn’t be one hundred percent certain, nor could he take the risk. Quite a predicament actually.

Or maybe it wasn’t a matter of if, but when. For now, at least, he would stick to his current course of action: secrecy and isolation.

A brief memory of happier days flashed in his mind. If only he didn’t lose… her. Things definitely would be different right now.

Aiden sighed heavily. “Look, at one point I might have not minded a party, but now I… that just isn’t the case anymore.”

“Why?” Pinkie asked, cocking her head.

He folded his ears which still felt weird for him to do. It felt so weird he almost developed a weird habit of pressing on the back of his ears. “It’s… a very long story and I’d wish to not take up your time with something… trivial.”

Trivial was an understatement, but again, that story was not something he wanted to share.

It was Rainbow Dash’s turn to cock her head, but with a raised brow. “Trivial?”

“It’s better if I don’t discuss it. Besides, it doesn’t concern either of you.”

He didn't want to speak of his issues. They were his to deal with... alone.

“Maybe if, you know, opened up a bit and told us then maybe we could cheer you up. A party’s always a great way to cheer somepony up!” Pinkie’s attempt to get him to spill his guts out was… admirable to say the least.

Her antics aside, she didn’t deserve Aiden’s ire. Not one drop of it. He smiled softly at the usually jovial pony. “Pinkie, I appreciate the thought of wanting to cheer me up, but not now,” he said. “Maybe… in the future perhaps? When I’m ready of course.” His hopeful statement perked her right back up.

Pinkie smiled wide, making Aiden’s cheeks sore just by looking at her. “You promise!?” She was doing her little short hops again.

“Yeah! Promise?” Rainbow Dash leaned in close to him.

“Well I- uh.”

“Pinkie promise?” Pinkie got in close to him as well, keeping that wide, toothy smile.

He didn’t even have a pi- oh… that. How did it go again? “Uh…” He trailed off, having barely ever bearing witness to a promise of such nature. “Sorry, but uh… I forgot how that went.”

Dash rolled her eyes.

Pinkie crossed her heart with a forehoof and placed it over her eye. “Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye, silly.” She giggled.

He mimicked her gestures, and repeated. “Cross my heart and hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye.” Never did Aiden feel more off about himself after that.

Rainbow threw a hoof up. “Was that so hard?”

“I guess not?” He shook his head, fixing his gaze on the two mares apologetically. “I-I’m sorry I went off on both of you.” He rubbed the back of his head with a forehoof.

Rainbow Dash’s gaze softened, returning an apology of her own. “I-yeah. Sorry I yelled too. See ya around.” She flapped her wings and flew off.

Pinkie remained in front of Aiden, staring at him with a smile that made her look like — “Ough!”

The pink mare wrapped her forelegs around him and squeezed. “It’s alright, you silly little colt!”

If he wasn’t sturdy enough, he’d snap like a twig under this hug. Wait. Did she just call him little? Whatever.

He patted her on the head as a token of his appreciation. He shifted his gaze and gave a sheepish smile. “Can I go now, Pinkie? I really do need to get going.”

She let go of her grip, short hopping with another cheer-filled giggle. “Okay, then, see you later then!”

And in the blink of an eye, she was gone.

Aiden, deep in thought, turned around and continued on his daily trek through the town.

Thinking back on his earlier outburst, Aiden really didn’t need to be so hard on her. Things may have already been resolved, but that moment reminded him of that fateful day four years ago. It’s best not to repeat the mistakes of the past. His lips quivered, but he lightly bit down to hold in what little tears he would shed.

Now wasn’t the time to feel sorry for himself.

He’d guess it wouldn’t hurt to actually reveal himself one of these days. Maybe those Hunters will never find a way to Equestria. Nobody probably even knows of half the spells he created and casted. Being secretive can have its perks at times, but maybe this is one of those occasions where it didn’t. He thought deeper and deeper about the situation as he continued his exploration of Ponyville.

Eventually, he came across the market place and saw all the ponies, sitting around at the stalls and eating, and waiting in line to purchase their goods. Aiden already had some notes about the many things ponies ate. Much of their diet was no different than the horses would eat back in his world for the most part. However, what he couldn’t wrap his head around is how they could hold some of these items in their hooves. He constantly furrowed his brows at the fact that was the one thing he couldn’t manage to do while in his pony form. He always relied on his magic in this form, or at least whatever amount of it he had access to under the potion's effects. Never for the life of him could he use his hooves like they could. This was one detail about him that made him stick out like a sore thumb… hoof? Whatever.

*****

Continuing his trek through Ponyville, Aiden took notes on things he might have missed during his time in this land. He managed to fill a few pages in just a couple of hours, and looked some of them over briefly. Some older details he had forgotten to tack onto the board stuck out to him as he read through them.

𝓟𝓲𝓷𝓴𝓲𝓮 𝓟𝓲𝓮

𝓟𝓪𝓻𝓽𝔂 𝓰𝓲𝓻𝓵

𝓔𝓬𝓬𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓻𝓲𝓬 (𝓐 𝓰𝓸𝓸𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰)

𝓙𝓸𝓿𝓲𝓪𝓵 (𝓑𝓸𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓼)

𝓕𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮

𝓑𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓶𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵 𝓮𝓺𝓾𝓪𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 (𝓒𝓪𝓷 𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓫𝓪𝓫𝓵𝔂 𝓭𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓭𝓮 𝓫𝔂 𝔃𝓮𝓻𝓸)

𝓤𝓷𝓫𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝔂 𝓾𝓷𝓲𝓿𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓪𝓵 𝓵𝓪𝔀𝓼 𝓸𝓯 𝓹𝓱𝔂𝓼𝓲𝓬𝓼 (𝓘𝓵𝓵𝓸𝓰𝓲𝓬𝓪𝓵)

𝓗𝓮𝓻 𝓶𝓪𝓷𝓮 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓪 𝓹𝓸𝓬𝓴𝓮𝓽 𝓭𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷

𝓡𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓫𝓸𝔀 𝓓𝓪𝓼𝓱

𝓥𝓔𝓡𝓨 𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓵𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓬

𝓒𝓸𝓷𝓯𝓲𝓭𝓮𝓷𝓽 (𝓢𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝓬𝓸𝓬𝓴𝔂...𝓼𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓽𝓲𝓶𝓮𝓼)

𝓣𝓪𝓵𝓮𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓯𝓵𝓲𝓮𝓻

𝓘𝓷𝓼𝓹𝓲𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰

𝓘𝓼 𝓪 𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓹𝓸𝓷𝔂

𝓤𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓽𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓼 𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓹𝓪𝓽𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓷𝓼 (𝓓𝓮𝓮𝓹 𝓴𝓷𝓸𝔀𝓵𝓮𝓭𝓰𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝔀𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻)

𝓗𝓪𝓼 𝓰𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽 𝓼𝓮𝓷𝓼𝓮 𝓸𝓯 𝓵𝓮𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹

𝓒𝓪𝓷 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓼𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭 𝓫𝓪𝓻𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓻 (𝓒𝓾𝓻𝓲𝓸𝓾𝓼)

Letting out a sigh, he flipped the notepad to an empty page. Certainly there were more interesting things he could experience. If only he wasn’t grounded.

His eyes lit up with inspiration as he gazed skyward, drinking in the beautiful blue veil. The corner of his mouth turned upward. “Cloudsdale. One day I will reach you.”

Aiden has heard much about Cloudsdale over the years, but he wasn’t really able to get there. Only Pegasi could walk on clouds and he had no wings. He could probably get there in his human form with a special spell, but that might take some time to workshop. His pony form was the bigger issue.

If only he could turn into a pegasus.

The thought of getting there one day always made him giddy.

Deciding not to put much more thought into it, he would put his focus more on exploring the world that was currently accessible to him. He eventually reached a local train station where he stood in awe at the fact that ponies even had trains to begin with. They seemed so medieval that he thought nothing of it. It didn’t occur to him until now to go around and explore more of this fascinating world. Aiden brought his notepad before him and scribbled away at the information he could attain without directly asking for it.

𝓟𝓸𝓷𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓱𝓪𝓿𝓮 𝓽𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷𝓼 (𝓛𝓸𝓰𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓬𝓼)

𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓲𝓼 𝓮𝓷𝓰𝓲𝓷𝓮-𝓹𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓭 (𝓢𝓽𝓮𝓪𝓶?)

𝓣𝓻𝓪𝓲𝓷 𝓷𝓪𝓶𝓮: 𝓕𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼𝓱𝓲𝓹 𝓔𝔁𝓹𝓻𝓮𝓼𝓼 (𝓕𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓼…?)

“The Friendship Express,” he muttered. His gaze shifted upon the train in front of him. He would have to ride the train later just to see more of this marvelous world, but he didn’t have that kind of time right then. There was only about an hour left before the effects of the potion wore off, and he wasn’t going to take a risk like that.

With his newly jotted notes, he turned and happily trotted away from the station. As he took his leave, he could remember how perfectly aligned the rails were. Again, how did ponies even do all of this with just hooves? Even the train itself had an appealing design. He was aesthetically drawn to it all. The best part was that he finally knew how to get to Canterlot without resorting to sneaking around as a human. After the few years he had spent there, he never really found the time to explore every area of Ponyville, especially the train station.

Instead, Aiden always cooped himself up in his lab to create spells, study, and find ways to strengthen the effects of his polymorph potions so they would have a much longer duration.

*****

Aiden trotted back through Ponyville to explore more of the town with what time he had left before the potion’s effect wore off. He picked a direction and stuck with it. He continued his way down the road until he came across an orchard of apple trees. The sight never ceased to amaze him everytime he visited it. That was until he saw Applejack bucking the trees. This was the first time he saw the mare somewhere other than her stall in the market.

There was something about her that always caught his attention. Maybe it was because she reminded him of his home back on Earth? She kind of did remind him of his mother a little given her tendency to care for her family and others, and her tough personality.

In fact, if she was really like his mother, he’d best not be on her bad side.

The sight of her more or less still sent his heart aflutter.

His eyes wandered as his mind drifted back to remember a simpler time. He remembered the time growing up on his parents farm, times he played with his older brother, and times when he helped his dad in the fields.

“...lo”

When Isabelle was still with him, she’d help pull the odd prank on the neighbors with him and his brother.

“...ello…”

Mother’s homemade fruit punch was the best, and dad’s homemade wine on holidays was ama-

“Uh, hello? You there?” Applejack asked as she waved a hoof in front of his face, snapping Aiden from his trance.

He blinked a few times and shook his head, turning his sights on AJ. “Oh um, sorry. I just spaced out.” He smiled sheepishly.

Applejack raised a brow at him. “Y’all stood there looking like a zompony or somethin’.”

“My apologies, I’ll get going. I’m trespassing aren’t I?” He really felt like he was.

“Are ya okay, partner?”

“N-yes. I’m fine.” He was and wasn’t. Both.

“You sure? ‘Cause you look like you need some rest.”

Her words gave him pause. How bad was his complexion right now? He shook his head and brought his attention back to the mare in front of him. She really was pretty.

Aiden’s cheeks turned up a little with a light blush. “Yeah, rest. I think I’ll go get some. It’s time for me to leave anyway.”

“Why not rest here for the night? We got plenty of room.” Applejack insisted.

Given that it wouldn’t be long before the polymorph potion would wear off, he unfortunately had to turn down her offer. He could tell by the position of the sun that he had maybe half an hour left.

“I’m sorry, but I really gotta get home. I’ve got some... important things to do.” He explained, moving his gaze to the ground.

Applejack cocked a brow. “What kind of important things?”

“Uh….really important ones.” Aiden sighed. “Listen, if I stay at your place, it won’t end well. Okay?”

“Ah’ guess ah’ understand. Just be sure to get that rest okay?”

It’s funny, really. Aiden always wondered why she showed him such hospitality. Sure they had a few talks, but they were always very brief. She really did remind him of how his family was when it came to things like this. Whenever someone needed a place to stay, his folks opened their door to them. Or if someone needed some help, they’d help them. She was just that trusting even after only a few chats here and there. They barely even knew each other, but he’d always bring himself to smile at the mare.

Even just a little when he felt very very down.

Aidan looked at Applejack with a weak smile. “Thanks. I will.” he said as he turned around and walked away.

“Anytime, Cipher.”

After he got some distance from the farm, he put his head down. To his dismay, he knew he had developed feelings for her, but couldn’t act on them. Interspecies relationships were just….weird? He was a human, and she was a pony… just how would that work out anyw- wait a minute. Isabelle was a fairy, so this didn’t really make sense in his head truth be told.

Maybe it was the lingering fear of being followed into this world that threatened to cripple him.

Whatever.

Any excuse to ensure those around him remained safe… as a precaution… yeah.

*****

Aiden quickened his pace when he saw the sun was setting behind the mountains. Drawing near the Everfree, his mind raced. Why did he make so much small talk with everyone suddenly? In the three years he’s been here, why now? It wasn’t like him to do that. Several other locals including Twilight chewed away the minutes this time of ALL days!

Finally he breached the forest entrance, rushing as fast as his pounding heart to his home. Aiden darted and weaved through the thickets, slicing a hurried path home.

How much further? How close?

He came across the small clearing where his house was. He beelined for the front door as he squeezed out every bit of stamina he could. He reached the threshold of the small porch. Though if it were right on cue, he fell to the ground in pain. A couple of nearby sentinels quickly went to pick his clothes off the small line, and covered him.

Aiden’s limbs expanded and his bones regrew. They pushed against the surface of his skin. His white fur thinned out and disappeared from his body. His ribcage pressed against his organs. He desperately tried to gasp for air, the potion’s effects refusing to yield any quarter. His face reshaped back to its flat and circular shape. He sneezed out some red and claggy goo that had built up in his nasal cavities.

There was a brief moment of reprieve for Aiden to take in a quick gasp of air. All too brief.

He then writhed when the muscles and tendons tore and reattached. He laid on the ground and panted heavily. He closed his eyes and counted in his head. ‘One. Two. Three. Four. Five…’ He calmly halted his thoughts as the potion’s effects died down. He sighed a breath of relief once the final bits of muscle tissue were resituated properly in its place.

Aiden rested on his back for several moments, taking in deep swaths of air and slowly exhaled. The sentinels that were covering him slipped his clothes back on. He slowly sat up, his servants supporting his posture. With their assistance, he hobbled to his feet.

Step by step, his balance was maintained by his two servants. Once he reached the door, he placed a hand on the knob and turned his head to the sentinels next to him. He nodded to signal they may return to their patrol duties. He twisted the knob, opened the door, and made his way inside.

‘The potion did end up taking longer than it usually did to wear off,’ he thought, closing the door behind him.

Aiden had used a particular blue plant the residents called Poison Joke in this formula. He found out some of its negative effects and had to find something else to counteract it. Thinking conservatively, he simply chose a few ingredients from a remedy so the effects would wear off eventually. He had to be careful about it though; one tiny miscalculation and he could end up being a pony for a while. A longer while than intended.

He made his way down the hall and entered his bedroom. The walls were covered with various parchments of magical formulae he wrote and some posters. With many more painful steps, he dragged his feet to the other side of the room. He plopped himself face first onto his bed.

His mind wandered briefly, and remembered hearing about another human that had recently appeared in Equestria. From what he could gather, the man’s name was Vince, and he didn’t sound like the pleasant type. There was much gossip about his unsavory attitude towards the ponies, unbridled demeanor, and lack of consideration of the safety of others around him. He only hoped that he didn’t have to encounter him, but if he was one of those people he’d have to deal with him… somehow.

A disturbing tide of physical aches overwhelmed him. His fingers twitched and clawed at his mattress. There wasn’t anything he could do about it in his current state. His body gave into both his mental and physical exhaustion, and his eyelids slowly slid over his eyes. However, he couldn’t help but feel like he was actually being watched. Unable to maintain his consciousness any longer, Aiden drifted off to sleep.

Chapter 2

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