The scream quickly faded into a meaty thud as the pony's head collided with the stone pavement.
Apparently my disguise is still inadequate. I thought with a pang of disappointment. Looking down at my newly formed limbs, I could see several bone spurs that were not mirrored in the unconscious creature's large, weight-bearing legs. Studying the still breathing body, splayed out haphazardly as if thrown from a distance, I studied what my previously distant view could not properly comprehend in terms of its anatomy.
These creatures possessed four joints in total in each of the four primary limbs. Though I could not tell the internal structure, I still could see some distinct, static muscle groups concealed under the creature's thin, fuzzy hide.
I will adjust and try again.
The living fibers that intertwined just underneath my own pelt twisted and writhed in unison to change my outer shape. With a snap, and a series of low cracking sounds they pulled, broke, and reshaped my skeleton, keeping my other appendages intact and folded inside the facsimile of a torso cavity I created to fit to this world's sentients. I barely managed to remain standing as each leg splintered internally and realigned itself. What could not heal in short order, my thick blood made up for by solidifying into an internal brace utilizing the shattered bone fragments already present.
Four limbs, one tail.
My spine compressed with a series of pops, curving inward before reshaping, this time a few vertebrae shorter as to not stand out and draw attention. These creatures had compact bodies, not the long and lethally constructed ones I knew.
Two eyes, small muzzle, two ears.
With another crack, the fibers twisted up behind my face ripped my jaw out of place. They then pulled it apart, adjusted the left and right jaw plate to a smaller, less intimidating profile before bending inwards underneath what would be the new anchor for the fibers controlling it.
After giving myself a brief look over, my gaze lingered on the pony still laying on the ground before me. It's soft yet strong flesh. It's small, dense body. The slight scent of sweat, hormonal excretions, floral fragrances, and various other smells too faint or unknown to identify wafted gently off it's skin. I could hear it's heart beat from within it's torso cavity. It had a steady, welcoming rhythm. I leaned in closer, the soft thump, thump, thump, filling my ears. My mouth drifted open as the scents of the creature intensified, welcoming, inviting me forward...
However something quickly snapped me out of the trance that came over me. Cries from this creature's pack sounded from nearby, quickly approaching where I stood. I stumbled away from the scene as fast as I could manage, my legs still stiff and unfinished. A time or two, they almost gave out and bent unnaturally sideways as the joints misaligned and slipped out of place. However, they knit together quickly enough, barely allowing me the time to escape sight.
It was... difficult, walking at first like this. It always was, until the fibers fell into order, and the connective tissues learned to be efficient and responsive. Right now, they were disorganized, my internal fibrous anatomy pulling and yanking instead of smoothly flowing, producing a sort of broken, unnatural cadence of motion that would be a compromising sight on its own.
And if I am to serve the wisdom of the Aether, I must disappear seamlessly into the shadows. To seek the light in even the darkest of places, regardless of the form I must take to follow.
After only a few minutes of stumbling through the dark alleys between the nearby houses I was panting and heaving for breath, the oxygen and nitrogen rich air feeling far too thick and acrid to enjoy any measure of. However, I swallowed my distress and pushed on. Regardless of the reason that drove these creatures to almost come across me in my daze, I had left them long behind me.
Before long, I found a quiet place to sit and watch the streets from the shadows. Few ponies were out at this time of night, but it suited me just fine. The half dozen I found wandering the streets while their star was beyond the horizon were illuminated by their moon readily enough. To any keen eye watching, their bodies were lit up as if on display in the pale contrasting illumination from above.
One such pony happened to enter the street only a little ways down the street on the left side. It pulled the barrier to its dwelling--though it could just as easily be something else, upon reflection--closed and set its hooves in motion down the road. What caught my eye however, were two appendages not previously found on any of the previous six or so ponies I had seen this night. They connected somewhere near the creature's spine, and folded against its sides. Though they were backwards, and lacked a few joints... they looked very similar to my own wings, if infantile at best.
Are they decorative? Surely they indicated an inferior physiology... Unless.
I watched the creature for a little longer, before risking peering closer. I needed to know, Aether willing. And with it passing my vantage point by, giving me a clear view of its rear and swaying auburn tail, I was not at risk of giving myself away.
Taking a breath, and ignoring the unpleasant atmosphere filling my lungs by consequence, I focused on expanding on that twisting pool of energy that I felt constantly churning inside my chest. Patiently, I pulled it, willed it to flex, reshape, and grow. I felt it build up within my skull, like a gentle, growing pressure. My still roughly-disguised eyes trained on the growing-distant form, focusing and adjusted as the buzzing energy bled through the nerves and tissues making up my two primary eyes. For a moment, the world seemed to dim, as if the moon had faded from the sky and smothered the land with ash, leaving only vague shapes at best.
Then, vivid color broke through the darkness. My breath caught in my throat as the sheer amount of background energy quickly became apparent. It almost had me blinded, but as I adjusted to the pungent rainbow of residual energy that soaked everything, even the unliving stonework, I was able to discern proper forms and lines once again. Unfortunately, it was a full minute before my vision cleared and the rainbow of offensive color receded to a manageable level, and the pony had disappeared around a corner. To follow would mean leaving the sanctity of my vantage point, and risk being seeing again.
The Aether wills it.
I sprung forward, almost tripping as the reshaped 'muscles' underneath my skin struggled to cohesively work in tandem. However, as I quickly came upon the corner, my relatively short limbs were working relatively fluidly. Still awkward, but approaching what I believed to be more natural and in line with the creatures I observed.
Throwing myself at the corner and sticking my head around brickwork, the winged pony fell back into view. She still had her rear facing me, seeming completely unaware of my presence. What I saw with my second visual 'filter', was both to be expected and surprising at once. This creature had a rather notable 'core', where the light condensed roughly in her chest area, and branched out in long fingers of violet that burned into the darkness and clung to her spine as it spread through her body. For a creature of this energy-heavy world, that was expected, yet it was still a good deal more vibrant than I had expected--and its wings were practically glowing on top of it all. It was dull and hard to see, but it clearly illustrated a sort of natural imbuement or passive characteristic.
Perhaps, I thought, these creatures are capable of flight after all?
<> came a sudden, rolling neigh.
I jumped on the spot, and whirled to face the creature behind me, managing to stumble and collapse in the process as my 'hooves' slipped on the stone below. Piece by piece, the words passed into my brain as I laid there, each broken piece intermixing and passive over the fragments of knowledge I had stolen already from another. As I looked up at the pair of eyes staring down at me, I saw the creature's features quickly warp from a slightly hard but relaxed expression to a more fearful, withdrawn one. It took a step back from me, looking me directly in the eyes as I stood up.
<>
I couldn't tell if I messed up my disguise again, or if it was a twisted joint, or it was simply put off by my eyes. While I could see the pathways and residual aura of most forms of energy when I was extending my ‘sight’, the trade off was that my pupils tended to glow behind the cornea when active.
Attempting to resolve the situation peacefully, I attempted to tap into the still broken knowledge floating in my head. Judging by the armor, this creature would not be as readily deterred as the more common, unarmed creatures.
<> I breathed through my newly-flattened teeth, making a point to show that they were all perfectly typical and nonthreatening. I even managed to wave, as I believe the gesture was called. I may have dislocated my joint again in the process, as it was not used to bending so loosely. I did not think it was noticeable.
...I couldn’t place why, but the creature’s face paled on the spot. After letting out a strangled scream that died quietly in its throat, sounding more like it was gurgling water or bile, it fell backwards on its haunches and attempted to crawl away from me as quickly as it could. All the while, it never took its significantly widened eyes off me, looking at me like I was going to rip out its intestines and eat it there in front of it.
I had no such plan, and I hoped this was simply a misunderstanding. Or, a small adjustment I could fix before the next meeting.
Peering at its face curiously, I noticed something odd. Whatever creature this was, like my previous surveillance target, it possessed wings charged with traumatic energy. Yet, stranger still was the metal plates it wore that also emitted a soft 'glow', indicating an active set of enchantment of some sort. These enchantments were centered around a small sphere embedded in the metal breastplate.
I mentally stowed that little detail away for later analysis.
<> I managed, quickly attempting to excuse myself before I caused more damage. Once again, I showed him my full row of perfectly flat teeth to set him at ease.
That done, I bounded away as quickly as my legs would carry me.
I was breathing heavily again. My air chamber was burning in response to the harsh atmosphere present in this world; I hated its acrid taste, the way it settled heavily into the back of my throat. But, my call to the Aether was stronger, more devout than would allow for such minor inconveniences.
What's more, I was hungry. My hunger was dual purpose, in that for every creature I consumed, the more knowledge I would accumulate, and the more biomass I would have to reconstitute and improve my form. Every creature's memories, knowledge, and language was locked inside it's body in physical form. By consuming them only recently dead, I could take on bits and pieces of those advantages and make them my own. I could become stronger.
And, I was starving. I was moving far too much for my taxed body to keep up with. The single pony I had eaten wasn't enough to sustain me. No, not when I needed a whole new form; a whole new mental arsenal to protect myself from being discovered.
Thus, in the name of the Aether, I shall consume.
It took me some time, but I found my would-be prey. It was another pony with backwards wings. The growing instinctual connection I had to their race hinted at her being one of this races' two genders, female, the ones chosen to bear young. She had a smaller frame than the armored pony than before, from what I could tell. As she walked leisurely through the vacant town, her eyes cast absently up towards the silvered moon above with a look of quiet peace, I contemplated how much of a fight she would put up. Should I approach her up front, and trust in my disguise to grant me some measure of familiarity?
No, my disguise was still too unreliable. Perhaps it would work from a distance, but I could not trust it. Not yet, but perhaps soon. My muscles ached for the relief that this prospect would also bring more sustenance to feed them. My long tongue slipped between my flattened teeth and licked my short, small lips in anticipation. I could already feel the digestive juices start to flow into my maw.
Siding with stealth, I creeped along the shadows, hugging the walls of the surrounding buildings all while keeping a careful eye on the pony's head. Not once did she turn towards me while I closed the distance between us, drawing myself closer to that gray swaying tail and softly rippling, muscled body. However, my eagerness caused me to move too quickly. As my pace picked up a touch too much, her ears swiveled towards me.
In an instant, her head whipped around and bright yellow-green eyes caught sight of me. Thankfully, I was already close enough to lunge at her. The tense strands clinging to my bones contracted with the power of a vice, grinding my hardened hooves into the ground and propelling myself forward like a rocket. I cleared a good four bodylengths before slamming my new hooves into the pony; though, having surprisingly good reflexing, she had already reacted in kind, attempting to jump and escape but only managing to twist and disconnect herself from the ground. The result was a failed pin, which ended more as a violent ram. Our bodies separated midair as my hooves glanced her side, and my shoulder immediately after slammed heavily into her torso. We both lost our balance and hit the ground with a roll. I looked at the downed pony to find her only a short distance away, looking dazed and injured. Seizing this chance, I stood up and sprung again, this time sailing well above her before coming down with deadly force.
In the last instant, her wide eyes caught sight of me, and she rolled to the side, using her small wings for added momentum. My hooves met stone instead of flesh, but they still managed to shatter the stone path as a testament to her coming death. With a wince, I realized I also fractured my still-developing bones in my forelegs. None the less, I staggered after her as he crawled away.
There was a look of pure fear as I snarled at her, my slitted eyes narrowing and my secondary dagger-like canines sliding out from my jaw to show in front of my disguise's flat ones. I willed my blood to harden around the fractures in my legs as I sprinted after her. I could not do this with blunt force, I realized. I would have to make this messy.
With a whimper, she once again tried to take to the sky. As much as I hate to admit it, she almost made it out of my reach, but my physiology put me well above her kind in physical ability. Even with my wings tucked inside my chest, where the nerves and bones remained undeveloped to conserve space, I could still get myself off the ground a good deal. In this case, it gave me just enough of a vertical leap to wrap my forelegs around her hock and bite into her rear hoof.
I felt it splinter, and for a moment, the iron-heavy taste of pony blood filled my mouth.
Then, she began kicking with her other leg with a frantic scream. I held strong, trying to work my teeth deeper, but soon we both spun and curved back into the ground. It was unfortunate, but I was the one to take a greater toll on my balance. The next thing I knew, I was laying on my side, struggling to jump back to my feet and regain a hold of her before she escaped, but as I looked at her, she was already pushing off the ground and sailing over a nearby building, using it's awnings and overhanging roof to keep herself out of direct view.
I jumped to the roof, but just as I feared, when I made it up to the top I got a clear view of the bat pony flying well out of reach, beating her wings as hard as her small body could manage. Though it was faint, I thought I heard a quiet sob in the dead of night.
My hunger doubled then. Not only had I come as close as tasting a meal I could not have, but I had burned away a good deal of energy in my failed attempt. These ponies were a little more agile than I expected given their stockier builds. Perhaps, I would learn to not underestimate other children of the Aether, I chided myself.
Looking at the other rooftops around me, some higher, but most at the same level, I got a new idea of how to go about stalking my prey. Wings or not, they seemed to stick to the ground--likely to conserve energy, I mused. Perhaps flying was more taxing given their unique energy-enhanced nature of flight. Regardless, instead of roaming the shadows of the streets in plain view, I instead flitted from rooftop to rooftop, quietly looking over edges and gutters into the empty streets below for more would-be targets.
I had seen another armored pony, which I avoided. There was also a group of mostly females, shouting and hollering more than was pleasant to listen to; I avoided them as well. I wanted easier prey.
It took a good deal of time, but I happened across my opportunity to relieve the emptiness clawing at my body. From where I perched at the edge of the rooftop, I saw a pony male slumped in the alleyway between houses. He was just barely inside the gap, but I could still appreciate the reduced visibility. He appeared to be out of it, looking at some shiny thing he pulled out of his pocket with a focused look. Best of all, he lacked wings to escape. My mouth filled with wet anticipation once more.
My pupils dilated as I released the pent up energy in my limbs, propelling myself downward with as much force as I could manage with only the edge of the roof to push off against. My hooves met squarely between his shoulders, rewarding me with a fleshy crack of broken spinal joints. He jerked and then crumpled underneath my body now perched on top of his own. I broke off in the fall and stumbled a short distance away, almost managing to regain my balance after suddenly being stopped by his now-deformed torso. After taking a brief, almost pointless look around to confirm I had no witnesses, I sprung again on the downed form, my secondary canines once more sliding out from their concealed sockets.
The taste of blood was magnificent. As my teeth dug through the soft fur covering his neck, the rush of crimson fluid whetted my appetite further as I tore out chunks from his meat. I downed several mouthfuls and pulled away large sections of the fur-covered pelt--after dragging the body futher back into the alley of course--then moved onto the spinal cord. My flat teeth proved horrendously inefficient for this task, so I sacrificed some of my reserves of biological material to grow another set. It would be replaced soon enough, and after the flat ones fell out, I resumed my feast with vigor.
The brain was always the best part, however. I swallowed it in large chunks. The memories, knowledge, and language ability stayed intact better that way. That done, I moved on to the internal organs, and the skeleton of the torso. Though the brain gave me insight I needed, and the muscle and fat provided most of my energy, the skeleton was vital too in rebuilding and strengthening my own.
I was down to the last few limbs when I heard the frantic beating of hooves. My eyes instantly fell to the opening of the alley. There stood another pony, though this one was large, thin... Her mane flowed in an ethereal mist reminiscent of the night sky above. Her petite jaw was open and her eyes were locked on me. I could not place the emotion on her face, but shock was a good word for it. Her eyes then passed over what was left of my prey, and the trail of blood tainting almost the full length of the alleyway.
Then, her eyes changed. Her jaw shut tight and her teeth ground into each other audibly. Her ethereal mane whipped around her neck violently as the points of light expanded into a swath of burning silver. Her eyes took on a likewise burning light. I bared my teeth in turn and made a break for the back of the alley, but the rapid beat of hooves behind me dramatically outpaced my own. What was worse, was before she even made it to me, I felt something grab my limbs and tear me from my feet and into the air, though not before allowing my skull to impact the ground first. Then, I felt myself shoved into the nearest brickwork wall so hard that my bones creaked under the pressure, and cracks webbed outward from my body in the stone behind me.
<>
I flailed my limbs, each bending awkwardly past normal limitations in my panic to pry myself free. However, her grip was too strong. So, I changed my tactic. Currently, I could still feel the fluidic remains in my body, the meat and bone digesting and being coated in acidic bile. Choosing to live over keeping all of my meal, I regurgitated some of the burning fluid from within, spitting it in the large pony's face in a stream of yellow muck. The unseen grip around me instantly slackened as an impossibly loud shriek filled the air. As soon as my legs hit the ground, I ran past her, leaving her to her wounds and making my escape.
Unfortunately, it was only seconds before I heard her again.
<> she screamed. <>
I could feel the wind whip around behind me as the large pony bore down on me. I ducked in between two other houses, before jumping up to a roof and running full sprint away from my imminent death.
I did not expect this.
I did not expect this.
In a thunderclap of sound and light, the large pony appeared before me. It was then that I noticed she possessed two large wings, still not theoretically enough to keep her airborne but much larger than any I've seen on this world yet. In her eyes, I saw pure fury. What was worse, the faint traces of burned flesh were practically melting away before my eyes, as if the wounds inflicted by my bile were never there.
I was up against a demi-god, I suspected, and I did not like it.
Instead of grabbing me like she did last time, I saw a swath of light collect around her horn before it flew directly towards me in a ball of what I assumed to be pure wrath. I practically threw myself off the roof and down between the houses once more, avoiding the violent explosion above by less than a second. The darkness was no longer so dark as the attack left large particles of fire and burning roofing to rain all around me. Feeling truly afraid for my life at this point, I jumped through the nearest window I could find, breaking through the transparent panes with little to no effort. Once inside, I bolted for the nearest door, trying to find something to misdirect her attention long enough to get away.
After making it out into the hallway, I was stopped by a light suddenly coming on, and a large male stallion barring my path.
<>
I didn't let him finish.
I didn't have time.
My immediate survival was at stake, and I would not let him stop me.
I quickly lunged at him and sunk my teeth into his jugular vein. For my race, after consuming only one or two individuals piece by piece, a few anatomical weak points become quickly apparent. Still, this kill would not be for sustenance, nor did I feel it furthered my pursuit of the Aether's wishes, so the waste left an unpleasant taste in my mouth--though the blood that quickly spurted from the creature's open neck still had a pleasant taste, regardless of the nature of the kill.
The next moment, I was continuing down the hallway at full speed, past the stallion now bleeding out on the ground. Behind me, I heard a loud crash in the room I had entered though. Its weight matched the creature I was trying my best to avoid. Ss I made my way through the house, I could hear it running frantically to catch up to me. However, about when I heard it pass into the hallway where I had slain the resident, I heard it slow to a stop.
Then, I was free. Or, back outdoors, with the creature still somewhere in the house. Somehow, I had chosen my path well, and made it to another exit on the other side of the structure. Not wanting to push my luck, I quickly picked a direction and ran full sprint, trying to put some distance between myself and my pursuer. For a short moment, I believed I would make it out of this relatively unscathed.
Then, a flash of pain exploded from the right foreleg. My face instantly smashed into the ground as said leg gave out and caused me to come to a sudden, grounded halt. I was sure my teeth got rearranged in the process. Looking over at my rightmost limb, I instead found a burning stump, instantly causing my blood to turn cold.
With wide eyes, I rolled on my back and looked back at the source of my agony. There, the creature looked more furious, if such a thing was possible. The moon above seemed to be glowing with the same harsh, unnaturally-bright silver light as the creature's mane and eyes. The air around the creature cracked and sparked with building energy, only seconds from release.
In that instant, I knew I could not run, nor fight back well enough to avoid my own death.
Thankfully, I had one fall back left. One that would dramatically delay my call to the Aether's will, but I may still yet live long enough to carry it out. However, since I would soon lose my body--a first in many, many years--I would use it to its greater potential.
My skin ripped open as I willed the fibrous flesh underneath the unravel and pour forth in all their glory. My long, skeletal limbs previously confined inside my chest cavity spread open in the night air proudly. Wings, larger than the creature's full body yet incredibly thin branched out from my back. Long 'tails' of compressed black cord whipped around my body wildly, barbs adorning the end and making them into a deadly natural spear. My lower jaw ripped apart and revealed several previously-concealed rows of sharp, predatory teeth. Eyes previously blinded by the skin that covered them opened, all focused on my opposition and would-be executioner.
For a moment, the twisting mass that was my body seemed to give her pause as the light momentarily flickered. But it lasted only an instant, before the light surrounding her flashed, condensed into a beam of searing white, headed straight for my body. Not having time to avoid the collision, I instead focused on my desperate fall back. While I did not have the same magical command as the creature before me, my species could not transverse dimensions without a few tricks of our own. In the moment before impact, I felt my mind drift, as if displaced from my body and floating away. I reached my 'tails' out towards it, pushing it through the almost fluidic membrane barring passage. Thankfully it gave out in time to reach into the gap, just before the fire reached my body.
In that instant, I knew only agony. The white energy stripped away my black flash and seared it down to the bone. I would have screamed, but the fire had already burned away most of my throat, leaving only bloody char in its place.
Then, black consumed me, and I felt my mind disappear into the void.
