A Clash of Magics

Chapters

A Clash of Magics - Part 1
A Clash of Magics - Part 2
Worlds of Contrasts

A Clash of Magics - Part 1

Sudden daylight flared through Shinobuchan's eyelids an instant before she thudded onto the ground. Stunned, she sprawled for a while as the deep aches slowly seemed to ease. Then her usual magical instincts revived and she cast a minor healing spell on herself; except that nothing happened. Around her the sounds of nature were loud in her ears; the breeze rustling the grass and the leaves of the trees, the twittering of a multitude of small birds, and the buzzing of passing insects. The smells that exploded in her sinuses were also natural; the scent of nearby flowers, the loamy smell of damp earth, and a strange musky scent that she could not quite place. But the magic she had used for so long seemed denied to her; and, strangely, she did not seem too disturbed by that.

As the aches finally eased she rolled onto her front, then raised herself onto all fours. That was when she got her next hint that all was not well; although she knew she was on all fours, she did not feel pressure on her hands and knees, but only on her middle fingers and middle toes. Puzzled, she opened her eyes and looked down. She saw..... hooves?

It was cooler when she roused again, so she must have fainted for a long time. As she started to stir she could hear voices nearby, and gradually made sense of their conversation.

A childish voice was the first she registered.

“...but how can that be? She cayn't be a proper adult if'n she ain't got her cutie-mark, can she?”

A deeper, more adult voice responded.

“Sure seems kinda odd to me. Ah've never known of an adult blank-flank before.”

“Applejack!” the junior voice protested for some reason.

“Ah know ya don' like the term, sugarcube, but it does totally describe the sit'ation.”

“Ah s'pose so, but it still ain't nice.”

“Okay, li'l sis, Ah'm truly sorry, but Ah think ya'll have to get kinda used to it. A lot o' ponies are likely to use it in the near future.”

Ponies?

Shinobuchan opened her eyes, and promptly decided she was dreaming.

Standing near her were two...creatures. They looked a little like ponies, or (perhaps more accurately) like stylised drawings of ponies. Shinobuchan had ridden many horses (and other mounts), so she was well aware of their normal shapes and proportions. These... creatures... did not match real horses and ponies. They reminded her of illustrations from a book she had inherited from her sisters when she was a child. Was that the explanation for what was happening? Was she in some sort of dream created from her childhood memories? Was that why she could not use magic, because she was remembering a more childish time? But that still did not explain why she had hooves... if she still had hooves. She raised her “hands” into her field of view and found that she did indeed still have hooves. Then she recognised another anomaly; the adult “pony” was wearing a hat. And, of course, they were talking. And she could understand them. Perhaps the only way to explain this was as dream-logic, and go along with it until she woke up.

Taking a deep breath, Shinobuchan struggled to her... hooves. She tried to smile welcomingly at the pair, but could feel her legs quivering as she tried to stand. Was that just the strain of standing after recent events? Both of the pair tilted their heads to one side.

“Are ya feelin' okay, friend?” asked the adult, who had an orangey-golden coat and a blonde mane.

Shinobuchan shook her head gently in a bid to clear the muzziness. “I'm.. not.. sure. Where.. am.. I?”

The junior one, who was bright yellow with a red mane, looked up at the adult, who was watching Shinobuchan closely, then answered cheerfully, “This is the North Orchard of Sweet Apple Acres!”

Shinobuchan recognised all the words, but the way they were arranged made no sense. “Where is.. Sweet Apple Acres?”

The child-pony gaped at her wide-eyed. “Ya ain't never heard o' Sweet Apple Acres? Why, we grow the best apples in all of Ponyville... in the whole of Equestria!”

That meant no more than the first sentence.

The adult stepped a little closer. “What's yer name, friend?”

Shinobuchan frowned for an instant, then dragged her name from the muzz in her head. “Shino.”

The adult raised one foreleg in a strangely humanoid way and gave a friendly wave. “Well hi there, Sheyno. Ah'm Applejack, and this is ma li'l sister Apple Bloom. Ah'm guessin' yer not from 'round here.”

Shino shook her head. “I'm... not sure why I'm here,.. but it's very different from home.”

There was a sudden rushing burst of colour and Shino suddenly found another “pony” had joined them. This one was pale blue with mane and tail in multicoloured stripes... and it was hovering between her and the Apples. The new one had wings, a bit like Tyrael's Charger, but this beat its wings rather than just waving them ornamentally.

“Hey guys! Didja see that weird tornado thing that came out of the sky?” the pegasus shouted excitedly. Shino somehow got the impression that excitedly was normal for this one. “It just shot down, all skinny and long, then after a few seconds it shot right back up again and vanished. I got here as fast as I could to investigate, 'cause it looked kinda odd, so I thought I better come over and see whether...” at which point it realised the two Apples were looking and pointing past it, and it spun in midair to look. What it saw made it launch backward until it was hovering just above the Apples. “Who's that?”

“Sheyno,” volunteered Apple Bloom.

“And she's a stranger,” added Applejack.

The pegasus darted from side to side to get a better look at Shino, and suddenly stopped in midair. “Oh wow! She's a blank-flank! But how can that be...” she went on, ignoring Apple Bloom's protesting cry of “Rainbow!” “...when she's all growed up?”

“Don't ask me, I only just met her maself. This here's Rainbow Dash,” she said to Shino.

“She doesn't look so good. I reckon she could do with some TLC while we try to find out what's happening here. I'll scoot off to Fluttershy and ask her if she's okay with company incoming,” and with that and another burst of colour the pegasus was gone.

“Fluttershy?” asked Shino.

“She's my sis's friend. She's really good with lost critters and animals,” answered Apple Bloom

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Apple Bloom, that's not very polite.”

“Why? What have I said naow?” whined Apple Bloom.

“Well, most ponies would be a mite offended to be termed “critters and animals”.”

Apple Bloom turned to Shino. “You aren't offended, are ya?”

Shino shook her head (gently). “No, I'm not offended, I understand what you meant, but I also understand that others might not be so understanding.” Shino paused, a little confused herself by so much understanding.

Applejack grinned as Apple Bloom tried to work the sentence out. “Well, y'all seem a little better, so d'ya think ya can walk to Fluttershy's house?”

Shino looked anxious. “Shouldn't we wait until we get the answer from Ms Dash?”

Applejack gave a dismissive wave and snort. “Aw, Fluttershy can't resist a chance to care for lost critters and animals. So, can ya walk a ways?”

Shino gave a small smile. “I can try.” The other ponies came up either side of her and she was led away across the orchard toward a dirt track bordered by white post and rail fencing. They were aiming toward a gap in the fence, obviously with the understanding that Shino was still too fragile to jump over. As they reached the road they heard a call from above of “She says it's okay... well, sorta.”

“Sorta?” asked Shino.

Applejack smiled. “Fluttershy's not big on guests, but she loves carin'. She'll be fine when she sees ya.”

It was not very far to Fluttershy's house but Shino was very relieved when she caught sight of it. The cottage was large and multistoreyed, and appeared to be roofed with a tree as the thatch was green and bulbous. There was no doubt who it belonged to for it was surrounded by various types of animals, all apparently sitting or playing together. Shino remembered Apple Bloom's comment about “lost critters and animals”. Well, she certainly felt lost...

As they crossed a small footbridge on the approach, Shino saw Rainbow Dash walk out of the front door and stand to one side, waiting for them to arrive. Then she noticed another pegasus come out of the door but, unlike the strutting Rainbow Dash, this one seemed to slink; Shino even thought it looked like a mobile cringe, and she wondered what had been done to the poor creature to cause such behaviour. Surely this could not be Fluttershy? After all, she had vague memories of dealing with many animal trainers, and they had all been bluff intimidating characters; a complete contrast to this creature.

A moment later she was indeed being introduced to Fluttershy.

“Hi there, Fluttershy. This here's Sheyno. She's kinda lost and we thought ya might be able ta help 'er.”

Fluttershy looked nervously around her, almost everywhere except at Shino. “Oh... um... well, I... er... don't know if I can... I mean... I don't know if...”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Fluttershy, just pretend she's a little lost squirrel or somethin' and ya'll be fine. Ah reckon all she needs is some of yer Tender Lovin' Care and she'll be right as rain.”

“Oh... um, well... if you think I... er... won't you come in? Er... I'm sorry about the mess,” and she turned and led the way into a surprisingly tidy large cottage.

Shino looked around in astonishment. Apart from a stable-like door, this was just like a house as she knew it, and nothing like she would have expected a pony to live in. She strolled wonderingly into the room and smiled as she realised that many of what she had taken to be figurines of small creatures were actually live animals. She had a vague memory of disliking small mammals in the house before, but now she felt no animosity toward them. In fact, she quite liked their presence.

Suddenly she heard a shocked gasp of indrawn breath which made her look round. She found Fluttershy was quivering as she gaped at Shino's side. “Oh my... she... she... she's a blank-flank,” she gasped, obviously badly shocked; but Shino also noticed a disgusted snort from Apple Bloom. There was obviously something about that phrase that upset her.

Fluttershy beckoned her toward a well-padded sofa that stood at the far end of the room. Shino tried to sit on it as a human would, but she found her hind joints could not bend appropriately. After several attempts she stood again, feeling embarrassed, and looked up to find the others were looking bemused. They all looked at each other, then Fluttershy came over to the sofa and casually stepped onto it before lowering herself into what Shino recognised as a normal sitting position for a horse, then she looked up at Shino with a shy smile. Shino copied her, and a few seconds later they were both sitting face to face. For a moment they just gazed at each other, then Fluttershy spoke.

“Would you like some tea?”

“Or Ah'm sure we could arrange some cider,” suggested Applejack.

Shino was caught between upsetting one or other of her two new “friends”, but Fluttershy interrupted, insisting that cider was not suitable, but that Shino would probably benefit from some of her herbal tea. Relieved to be off the hook, Shino agreed that tea would be delightful, and Applejack took the rebuff in good spirits. As they waited Shino had a chance for a proper look at Fluttershy, and she realised that the pale yellow pegasus with a pink mane was as shy as her name suggested, but that kindness almost radiated from her.

Shino watched with amazement as the kettle was boiled and the tea made by a scowling white rabbit. Fluttershy reached out a hoof and chucked the rabbit under the chin, but it just gave Shino a contemptuous glance, then a meaningful look at the sofa, then stalked away. Shino got the distinct impression that she was sitting in someone else's seat. The tea, however grudgingly prepared, was very reviving. Then Fluttershy began to ask her questions; Where was she from? (Westfall), Where was that? (Eastern Kingdoms), Where were they? (Azeroth). It was obvious that none of the answers meant anything to them, but she had somehow not expected them to; in all her reading, in all her travels, she had never heard of a land like this. And after all, dream-logic meant that of course she had not, so that the dream retained its sense of mystery.

Then Fluttershy asked an innocent little question that held a bombshell of an answer.

“When you went to sit on the sofa you... er... you seemed confused about how to sit. Um... why was that?”

Shino paused for an instant, wondering how to respond, then decided that it was only a dream anyway so she might as well be honest. “Because I'm not used to this shape of body. I'm not a pony, I'm a human.” There were gasps from all of the ponies, closely followed by a shout of “Whoh! Awesome! Twilight has got to hear this!” and a burst of colour, and Rainbow Dash was no longer standing in the doorway. An instant later Shino felt a gentle touch on the back of her head and turned to find Fluttershy was feeling her skull. She flinched away and raised an enquiring eyebrow. Fluttershy paused, forehooves drifting almost aimlessly in the air, and a slightly embarrassed smile.

“What are you doing?” asked Shino, slightly more harshly than she intended.

“Oh! I was... um... just checking for concussion.”

“Why? I haven't banged my head.”

“Oh, of course you haven't, but you see you can't be a human.”

“Why not?”

“Because you're in the wrong place and the wrong time.”

Shino gave Fluttershy a puzzled look, but just got a shrug in reply, so she decided to investigate that later.

“Where did Rainbow Dash go?” asked Shino, a little puzzled at first at the pegasus's reaction; but then she wondered what she would have done if the situation had been reversed and she had met a human who claimed to be a pony.

“Um... oh... she's just gone... to find another... friend... of ours,” answered Fluttershy with a gentle smile. “You see, Twilight is very well read and travelled, so she knows... er... more about... um... unusual things. Perhaps you should... save your story until she gets here,” and she gave a nervous smile. Shino sipped her tea and wondered what would happen next in this dream. As if to confirm that, Fluttershy began to talk to the assorted creatures, and they appeared to talk back. Shino was a pony having tea with another pony that could talk with woodland creatures. Of course she was...

It was only a few moments later that voices outside, one recognisably Rainbow Dash, announced the arrival of the other friend. She was, as expected, another ponyish creature, but she was a type Shino had not yet met. She seemed to be part pegasus and part unicorn, and stepped cautiously into the room; however, Shino got the impression the caution was more to do with the small creatures that populated the room than with the unknown stranger.

The newcomer, a lavender-coated pony with a mane and tail of deep purple with multiple reddish-pinkish stripes, greeted Applejack and Fluttershy with obvious delight and then turned her attention to Shino. After a quick appraising glance, she introduced herself.

“Hello, Shino, if I may call you that? My name is Twilight Sparkle...”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle,” interrupted Apple Bloom. Shino was surprised to see that Twilight Sparkle blushed and appeared uncomfortable at the use of the title.

“But just Twilight will be quite sufficient between friends, and I'm sure we'll be friends.” Shino knew that phrase and tone; she felt she had used them on her patients back on Azeroth. It appeared friendly and meant cautiously detached. “Now, is there any spare tea? Then we can talk more comfortably.”

As they all sat down, most of them on the floor, Rainbow Dash seemed to be struck by a sudden thought. “Wait! Rarity and Pinkie? They'd hate to miss this,” and started to get up again. She was only stopped by a touch on her foreleg from Twilight. “That's alright, they're busy at the minute. Rarity has a collection to finish for shipping tonight, and Pinkie is organising a birthday party for one of the colts.” Rainbow Dash sat down again, smiling, “Oh well then, that's far more important. And we can always bring them up to speed later.” Twilight nodded, then turned her attention back to Shino.

“So, newcomer, what can you tell us about yourself?”

Shino had been unsure about this moment; should she treat this as the dream it obviously was, or should she treat it as if it was real and just see where it took her? She took a deep breath and began, drawing a little more information from the muzziness that seemed to blur her recollections of her previous life.

“My name is Shinobuchan, but everyone calls me Shino. I am... or rather I was... a human priest belonging to a guild called The Phantasmagoric Potholers on Azeroth. I started out just healing local people when they were sick or injured...”

“Oh... um... that was a good thing to do...” murmured Fluttershy.

“...although I did sometimes find myself having to fight them as well.”

“Oh...er... that was not so good...”murmured Fluttershy again.

“There had been rumours of strange portals that were grabbing people and taking them somewhere else, and I had heard about them but not really paid any attention. Then one day a group of us stopped to eat and doze a little, and the next thing I knew one of them had grabbed me, and brought me here. I don't know where, and I don't know why.” She stopped, not quite sure what else to say, and idly curious that she did not feel a sense of loss for her magic. That, she knew, should be very odd.

Twilight continued to gaze at her with a slight smile, while the others sat around staring at her with wondering expressions. After a moment, as if Twilight had been waiting for her to continue, the pegasus/unicorn nodded and opened her questioning.

“Well, thank you for that. To answer the where, you are in Fluttershy's house, as you know, a short distance outside Ponyville, which is part of the Kingdom of Equestria. Where that is relative to your Azeroth I cannot yet tell, but there might be ways to find out.

“Now, if you don't mind, I have a few questions. The first is – have you actually seen yourself in your new shape?”

Shino shook her head; Twilight tutted and asked Fluttershy if she had a large mirror. She nervously admitted she had one in her bedroom and they all trooped upstairs. Shino knew she had to do this, even as the panic rose within her, but perhaps this would be the climax of the dream, even the moment she woke up.

They squeezed into Fluttershy's bedroom (“Um... I'm sorry... about the mess...” in a spotlessly clean room). Shino steeled herself, and looked at her new (dream) body. She had expected a pony, but she had not expected to see a violet unicorn with almost raven-black mane and tail. And, to her newly-acquired pony aesthetics, she was fine-looking. The others allowed her a while to get used to her new appearance, then Twilight introduced her to the variations in “ponies”. Shino was a unicorn, as was Rarity, who she would meet later; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were pegasi; both of these types Shino already knew from legends in her own world, but she had not heard of earth ponies (Applejack, Apple Bloom and Pinkie Pie, another she would meet soon), which seemed to be “normal” ponies; while Twilight was an alicorn, a magical cross between a unicorn and a pegasus. Shino was pleased to be learning more about the background to her dream, which was so far showing an exceptional level of internal logic. And she had not woken up.

They all trooped downstairs again, and Fluttershy nervously asked Angel, the scowling rabbit, if he would make more tea and fetch some cakes. Angel grumpily agreed and they were soon all sipping tea, most of them from bowls held between their forehooves, but Twilight was apparently using telekinesis to levitate hers. Eventually, Twilight restarted the investigation.

“So, if you are only recently transformed into a unicorn, and that from an adult human, that would explain why you have blank flanks.”

“Oh, Twilight, not you too,” moaned Apple Bloom. Twilight turned to her and adopted a schoolteacher manner.

“Now, Apple Bloom, has Miss Cheerilee ever mentioned “context” to you?”

Apple Bloom looked up with a slightly sulky expression. “Ah don't think so.”

“Well, context is how things can mean different things depending on when they are used and who to. So, if I were a bully and I called someone a blank-flank in a nasty mean tone, that would be wrong. But on this occasion “blank flank” is simply being used as a description of someone whose flank is blank. Just as with any word or phrase, who is saying it, who to, and how it is being said can completely change the meaning. So, for example...”

“Er, Twilight, focus,” interrupted Applejack. Twilight stopped and looked round at her wide-eyed friends, then blushed. “Oops, sorry everypony.”

“Maybe y'all should start a class in yer Library seein' as yer so all-fired keen to ed'cate ponies.”

Twilight's blush got deeper and she hung her head sheepishly for a few seconds before straightening up as Shino asked her a question.

“I was wondering; you didn't seem surprised when I said I was human. It was almost as if you already knew. And Fluttershy said I can't be human because I was in the wrong place and the wrong time. What was that supposed to mean?”

Twilight glanced across at Fluttershy, who just shrugged, then thought for a moment.

“Well, the reason for that is that I have actually met humans before. In fact, I've even been a human, just as you're now a pony.”

Shino gazed at her in disbelief.

“It was a little while ago now, but I had to go into the human world through the portal in the Crystal Castle to recover a stolen item. So I do understand how someone can change shape between worlds.”

“Well, let's get there and I can go home,” cried Shino, starting to rise.

Twilight shook her head. “Sadly that isn't possible. Firstly, because that portal is currently closed, has been for about five moons, and will remain that way for another twenty-five or so moons. Therefore, you cannot have arrived through it and couldn't return through it. Secondly, Rainbow saw the tornado-like thing that did bring you, and that is a completely new and unknown phenomenon.

“So, I suppose our task is to try to find out how and why you are here, whether there is a way to return you home, and (assuming the answer is yes) to make you welcome in between.”

“Er... and what if... the answer... is... um... no?” whispered Fluttershy, cringing as everyone looked at her and she said the final dreaded word.

“Well, I'm sure that won't be the case, but if it is, that just makes the final part of our task all the more important.”

“Thank you for your offer of help, but I know how and why I'm here, and how to get back.”

“You do? I thought you said you didn't?”

“Of course. It's come to me as we've been talking. I'm here because I'm dreaming, and to get back I just have to wake up.”

All the ponies put their heads on one side and gazed at her silently, until Applejack spoke.

“Well, Ah don't know about y'all, but Ah feel mighty solid fer a dream.”

Rainbow Dash roared with laughter.

“Hey, if you were dreaming us, could I do this?” and a multicoloured blur hurtled out of the door and back a second later to sit perfectly still beside her friends while their manes were still blowing in her outgoing turbulence. She gave a wide self-satisfied grin as if her point was proven. Then Twilight leaned across.

“If Shino's dreaming us, then you doing that only proves that she can dream it, because you've just done it.” As she straightened up again, Rainbow Dash's face contorted as she tried to follow the logic.

Twilight asked Shino to excuse them, and all but Fluttershy went outside for a private discussion. Shino asked Fluttershy why she had remained behind. The yellow and pink pegasus huddled into a small ball at the other end of the sofa. “Oh... um... I'm sure I... don't... have anything... useful to say.” Shino was unsure whether she wanted to cuddle and support the timid creature or to grab her, give her a good shake, and tell her to man up – or rather, pony up.

It was barely a minute later that they all returned. Once again, Twilight seemed to be spokespony.

“We accept that you might be dreaming us,” much to Shino's dismay, until she realised they were probably just humouring her, “but we feel the best way to deal with this situation is to treat it as if it was real life. After all, we've all been in situations that seemed like a bad dream at the time, but we had to work through them anyway. So, if it is all right with you, we want to carry on as we planned. You can try to wake up, if you like, but we will look into getting you back using normal magic. We might find that us getting you back will be what wakes you, anyway. It might be how the dream is supposed to end.” Shino thought that it was only a few minutes since she had thought that herself. “We think it's a good idea if you stay with me at the Library, in case there are questions raised by my research.” Shino agreed to Twilight's plan.

It was quickly decided that Shino seemed well enough to accompany Twilight to stay at her Library, although it might be wise to leave it until after dark so that her blank flanks would be less noticeable as that was very likely to cause concern among the residents of Ponyville.

“Before we go anywhere,” began Shino, “why am I a blank-flank and what makes it so shocking?”

The other ponies looked confusedly at each other, partly in surprise that they had blithely been referring to Shino without explaining to her what their comments meant. Several of them facehooved in disgust. Then all of them stood and turned so that their flanks were clearly visible to Shino. Now she could see that all of them, except Apple Bloom, had colourful designs on their thighs. Applejack had three rosy red apples, Rainbow Dash had a multicoloured jagged lightning bolt dropping out of a white cloud, Fluttershy had three pink and turquoise butterflies, and Twilight had a large pink star with white stars around it. Shino had not really been aware of them before and had assumed that they were painted on, but now it was explained that they were a natural phenomenon, suddenly appearing when a colt or filly was approximately Apple Bloom's age (at which point Shino became aware that Apple Bloom was sporting a deep scowl) and it had some relation to their unique talent; so, for example, Applejack's showed her abiding passion in the family's apple farm, Rainbow Dash's mark recalled her love of flying (especially very fast flying), Fluttershy's mark showed the butterflies that had led to her discovering her talent in speaking with animals, and Twilight had sparkling stars to symbolise the magic which was her abiding passion. Apple Bloom did not have one because she had yet to experience that defining moment.

But it was very rare for a pony to reach adulthood without one, so it was often unfortunately thought that a lack of a cutie mark showed a lack of character, and that could lead to unpleasant encounters (“Don't Ah know it,” muttered Apple Bloom). Therefore it would be better for her to go through town at night. However, as that was suggested, Fluttershy stirred and murmured that she had dresses that Shino could borrow (a dress for a pony? That vaguely reminded her of dressing up her dogs and cats when she had been a child), and that would eliminate the problem. There was a chorus of agreement, much to Fluttershy's delight and embarrassment, and then she and Shino went upstairs to try them on.

It took a while (mares will be mares) but Shino eventually stepped cautiously downstairs in a stylish but subdued green dress that covered her back and hind legs with straps across her chest. She was greeted with cheers and whistles and it was agreed they would all escort Shino together. They were often seen as a group, and one extra might not be so obvious. So Shino and friends set off toward her temporary new home.

It was not far, and seemed even less now that Shino felt stronger, to the outskirts of Ponyville. This was a small town formed largely of multi-storeyed half-timbered buildings with thatched roofs. She was led along a zigzag route, keeping away from the centre of town but still meeting many ponies. Shino was surprised that so many greeted them and quite a few looked curiously at her. She was used to places like Stormwind and Ironforge, where a person could stroll for hours without even being acknowledged. This was more like the atmosphere in a small village where everyone knew everyone else. Here a new face was cause for curiosity and comment.

They turned a corner and Shino stopped dead. The others took a couple of paces forward before realising they had lost their companion, then they turned and smiled at Shino's expression. Twilight waved a foreleg at the scene and said, “Welcome to Golden Oak Library, Shino.” Shino just continued to gape.

Before her, at the end of the street, stood a huge tree. A huge tree with a door set into the trunk. A huge tree with windows and balconies peeping and protruding through the branches. A huge tree that Twilight lived in. Suddenly Shino was back in her childhood. This was what she had dreamt of when she had asked for a treehouse, not the shed-on-a-branch her father had so proudly unveiled. This was definitive proof. This had to be a dream.

Eventually Shino stepped forward, and they entered the Library. As they did, Twilight called ahead, “Oh Spike, we have a guest who will be staying with us for a little while. Can you prepare one of the upper rooms for her?” A few seconds later a short rotund reptilian figure wearing an apron and a chef's hat came into the room. He looked Shino up and down, nodded, then went back to the kitchen. Shino turned to Twilight. “What is he?” she whispered, “I was expecting a pony.”

Twilight smiled, “Spike is a baby dragon, a true friend, and the best assistant I could wish for.” As Twilight answered and the others made themselves comfortable, Shino looked around the room. This was very accurately named the Library; almost every available inch of wall space was crammed with thick leather-bound books. Shino was in heaven, a real treehouse filled with books. Could life get better than this?

Appetizing smells wafted through from the kitchen, and a few minutes later they were sitting on the floor around a low table as they ate a delicious meal, and Shino realised she was very hungry. She focussed on the interesting flavours of the unfamiliar food as conversation flowed around her. After the meal they each enjoyed a cool glass of cider (just half a glass for Apple Bloom), then went their various ways; Applejack and Apple Bloom back to Sweet Apple Acres because it was near the filly's bedtime, Rainbow Dash was due on weather duty shortly, and Fluttershy needed to make sure her woodland friends were safe and well. Shino made a point of thanking them all for their help. They all smiled and denied it was anything special, and said they would be back next morning to see if there had been any progress.

Twilight looked around the room with a proprietorial air. “So, where do we start, I wonder? Hmmm...” she murmured, stroking her chin with her forehoof as she thought. Then an idea seemed to occur to her. She turned to Shino and asked, “I've just thought, can you even read? Here's me, just assuming you can, but of course if you're a stranger you might not be able to.” Shino was not sure herself, so Twilight looked around again, then her horn glowed pink as she telekinetically drew a book from its high shelf and lowered it to the table. She flipped it open, then stood back to allow Shino closer.

Shino looked at the strange swirls and squiggles on the page and her heart sank as she realised there was no discernible meaning there at all. She felt tears begin to well up, but as she blinked them clear she felt a very strange buzzing sensation behind her eyes and the marks began to turn into words, and words that she understood. Well that had been much easier than learning to read as a filly... er... child. More dream-logic?

Reassured, Twilight then asked if she could use her magic to fetch books. Shino looked blankly at her. She had vague memories of magic from her previous (real?) life, but she was almost sure none of it was telekinetic. Nodding in acceptance, Twilight asked Spike to look after her, fetching and returning books as needed. She would be upstairs checking her other library. The little dragon, no longer wearing his chef's apparel, saluted and immediately started going around the room pulling out volumes he thought might be relevant. Shino thanked her hostess, who just responded with a smile as she started up the stairs to the next floor, then turned her attention to the first of the rapidly growing pile of books.

It was late, and Shino had probably napped several times, when Spike interrupted her studies to suggest it might be wise to go to bed and that he would lead her to her room. This proved to be at the top of several flights of stairs and was a cosy chamber with an oval window that, on examination, gave a wonderful high viewpoint from which to survey the lights of Ponyville. Shino watched for a while before settling down into bed as she yawned her head off. As she was about to go to sleep, this would be the dream-logical time to wake up.

***

She awoke next morning to an unfamiliar room, which was nothing unusual in her itinerant life, so she just lay there for a few minutes waiting for her memories to catch up. When they did, it was to let her know that she was in Twilight's top bedroom in the Library, and she had not woken from her dream... yet.

Wondering what passed for ablutions among ponies, Shino fumbled for a while with the door handle, until she learnt how to hold and turn it with her teeth, then made her way downstairs. She passed Twilight's room and a quick glance showed that the alicorn was telekinetically wielding a curry-comb down her flanks. Seeing her there, Twilight invited her in and they spent a pleasant time as she brushed Shino's coat, which felt amazingly relaxing. Then, after quickly brushing their manes and tails to get the kinks out, they went downstairs to where Spike was waiting with two bowls of warm porridge.

After breakfast, they resumed their research, although both of them were beginning to think it might be hopeless. Soon after, the front door opened and a pink pony with a bright pink curly mane looked in, scowled at Shino, then immediately left. Shino was surprised, and puzzled at the strange behaviour, but more so when, approximately five minutes later, she did exactly the same again (Shino assumed it was a female because she associated bright pink and curls with girls but, after all, this was a new world and different rules might apply). She was still thinking about this when it happened again. She ran to the door to try to catch the intruder, but it seemed to have disappeared into thin air.

A short while later Applejack arrived, this time without Apple Bloom but accompanied by a proud-stepping pale grey unicorn with an indigo mane and tail and a cutie mark of three blue diamonds. This, she was told, was Rarity, the fashion designer. Rarity held out a hoof in greeting, but Shino got the impression it was less like a handshake and more like a noble bestowing a favour. Her speech had a very refined tone that Shino thought of as hoity-toity.

“Hello darling, I'm so pleased to meet you. Applejack here has told me all about you, and I'm sure I can feel the stirrings of an idea for a collection.” Shino remembered Twilight's comment from the previous day and asked, “Did you manage to get your collection finished?” Rarity blinked as if unsure what Shino was referring to, then laughed in response. “Oh yes darling, all finished, packed and shipped. Perhaps my finest collection yet, if I do say so myself. Now, where is that darling Spike with that lovely morning tea he makes so well?” As if on cue, Spike backed through the kitchen door carrying a bowl of tea in his hands. He placed it on the table, then retreated to the doorway, where he stood gazing at the lovely unicorn as she sipped the brew.

Applejack sidled over to the baby dragon and gave him a nudge with her flank. “Quit moonin' around, Spike. There's ponies dyin' o' thirst here,” she teased with a grin. Spike gave a heartfelt sigh and ambled into the kitchen.

A steady tread from above announced the approach of Twilight, and the three friends were soon chattering away. Shino felt split; part of her enjoyed seeing her new friends happy and cheerful, the other felt left out and lonely. As she was realising this there was a knock at the door and Fluttershy sidled in, closely followed by Rainbow Dash. The two newcomers slotted straight into the conversation and Shino took a step backward, suddenly feeling that she was intruding on this long-standing fellowship.

The front door slammed open and there stood the pink intruder she had seen earlier. She was wearing a party hat as she struck a dramatic pose and then began to sing and prance.

“Welcome welcome welcome.
A fine welcome to you.
Welcome welcome welcome.
I say how do you do?
Welcome welcome welcome.
I say hip hip hurray.
Welcome welcome welcome.
To Ponyville today.”

There was a short pause, then a shriek of

“Wait for it! PARTY CANNON!”

The muzzle of a large blue cannon was suddenly filling the doorway. Shino was only just starting to launch herself at the group of laughing ponies as it fired, spraying the room with streamers, confetti and balloons. There were screams of laughter from the others as joyful bouncy music started up from somewhere and the room was full of jollity and dancing. And, also from somewhere, lots of cake. Then there came a piercing shriek, and the pink newcomer was bouncing hyperactively around the room (including, somehow, the ceiling) screaming “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh.......SHE'S A BLANK-FLANK! That's so scary!” then, suddenly, she sat down at the table and buried her muzzle in a cake. The others just shook their heads and smiled. Twilight went to introduce Shino, but was interrupted by Pinkie, with her mouth full, “Oh, I know. She's-really-a-human-from-another-world-but-not-the-same-one-you-went-to-and-she-was-kidnapped-by-a-snaky-wind-thing-and-now-is-trapped-here-but-can't-use-any-of-her-magic.” They all gaped at her as she returned to happily demolishing a plateful of cakes.

“Another of your hunches, darling?” asked Rarity.

“”Yep,” responded Pinkie crumbily, and everyone except Shino laughed. She was stunned that an unknown stranger could know so much about her, but the others just seemed to accept it.

Shino made her way over to Twilight Sparkle and asked if she could have a quiet word. Twilight agreed, and they stepped a little to one side.

“Um... Twilight, who is that?”

“That's the last of us, Pinkie Pie. We mentioned her yesterday. I'll introduce you properly when she's calmed down a little, if she ever does,” she responded with a smile.

“You told her about me before her entrance, didn't you?”

Twilight looked blankly at her. “No. I haven't seen her at all this morning.”

“So you told her last night?”

“I haven't seen Pinkie since yesterday morning. Why?”

“So how does she know all about me?”

Twilight whinnied with laughter. “Oh that's just her Pinkie Sense. Usually it just tells her immediate stuff, but sometimes it tells her all kinds of things.”

“Pinkie Sense?”

“Yes, of course. Well, no one else has it, so we named it after her. It's a bit like a mix of precognition and telepathy.”

Twilight excused herself and returned to her friends' discussion. Shino was left to ponder in isolation. This must be “normal” behaviour; whether for the place or for the person, Shino would have to discover.

Eventually the party settled down from its frenetic start and Shino was formally introduced to Pinkie Pie, the last of the friends. She struck Shino as being a total scatterbrain, but it seemed the others adored her, just as they each adored all the others. It reminded her of her sisters (most of the time) or the way she had got on with several of the Potholers. Even though this was only a dream, she suddenly felt very lonely, and just wished she could wake up with her old circle of friends rather than these enforced, albeit very welcoming, new friends.

Once they were all sloshing inside with tea and cider, except for those parts bulging with cake, they flopped down and began to discuss Shino's situation. Neither she nor Twilight had found any appropriate references in the Library, and apparently Twilight had sent a message to Princess Celestia, her mentor and ruler, asking if she might know anything. It seemed that the Princess knew nothing definite, although she had heard that there were different worlds up in the sky somewhere with different people and different magics. She had also been in contact with those from faraway lands such as Myanmare and Hosstralia to ask if they knew of any similar cases. It seemed none of them did. However, there was a possibility that the library at the old castle in the Everfree Forest might have something to say of mysterious portals.

At the mention of that name, all of the friends blanched a little, which bothered Shino. Was it the castle or the forest that worried them? What was this Everfree Forest? If that was the problem, what was so intimidating about it? And what about the castle, if that was the frightening part? Asking those questions got the answer that the forest was a place full of cursed animals and plants, some distance the other side of Fluttershy's home. To Shino it seemed odd that somepony as timid as Fluttershy would set up home closer to danger than anyone else. The castle was no threat as long as she did not touch anything or wander off. It was also suggested they should visit their friend Zecora, who apparently lived within the Forest, as she was wise and knew different things from the ponies. Did that mean she was not a pony?

Shortly afterwards, Shino found herself and her friends, laden with saddlebags containing refreshments, strolling along a path that led into a dark shadowy forest. There was an eerie feeling, perhaps partly composed of the gloom, partly of the slightly rank odours that assaulted their nostrils, and the strange lack of usual forest sounds; there were odd hisses, crackles and rasps, random sudden bush and tree branch movement, and sudden silences that somehow seemed foreboding. All the ponies were a little edgy, though Shino found the experience even stranger; she felt she had been in dangerous forests before, but they had been more overtly threatening, whereas this continuously hinted at danger without delivering it.

They had been walking for a long while when the forest opened up ahead of them and they approached a ruined castle. The curtain walls were very badly damaged; they were little more than piles of rubble showing where they had been. However, the main keep seemed more intact as Rainbow Dash soared across the moat toward it and Twilight confidently led the way.

A few minutes later they had passed along several passages, during which time Shino had been reminded to keep her hooves to herself which, to many others, would have been an invitation; and they entered a long high hall lined with books. In the centre of the room stood a low table supporting several stacks of parchment, some quills, and a bottle of ink. Twilight turned to Shino.

“Welcome to the library of the Castle of the Two Sisters. It has been neglected for many years, but we discovered it recently, and now we're cataloguing it to see what is here. Can each of you take a section please and we'll search for any relevant information.”

Very soon there was hardly any sound beyond ponies breathing, the rustle of turning pages, Pinkie Pie humming under her breath, and Rarity muttering under hers as Pinkie's music-making slowly got on her nerves. Perhaps fortunately, it was not long before Pinkie Pie got bored and wandered off to play the mighty organ in the great hall.
It took a long while, but eventually it was agreed that there was not likely to be any suitable information, so they might as well have a picnic before heading on to Zecora's house. The sound of food containers opening somehow penetrated as far as the great hall and Pinkie Pie, who galloped at breakneck speed to join them. After a pleasant indoor picnic, the ponies all packed up their rubbish and left the castle, heading for Zecora's house.

The “house” proved to be a hollow tree, surrounded with strange ritualistic masks and totems that reminded Shino of trollish artefacts. An oval door led into a single chamber that seemed to serve all Zecora's needs. And she was indeed not a pony; what surprised Shino was that Zecora appeared to be a zhevra filly. She had the black and white stripes, but no horn; in fact, now Shino came to think of it, the zhevras were just striped unicorns.

Introductions were made, and Shino discovered that zhevras were called zebras here, and did not have horns, so Zecora was an adult.

“Zecora, this is Shino. She says she used to be a human, which is sort of like a two-legged pony, but was taken from her world by a mysterious portal and dropped here after being changed into a proper pony. She seems to have forgotten all but the most basic information. We've looked into all our books, but we can't find any reference to this in them. You know so much that's different to us, so we wondered if you might know anything that might help.”

“How kind of you to bring your guest
Into my homely zebra's nest.
I understand your wanting aid
For this pony that's mislaid.
Hail Shino, that's a pretty name,
But special knowledge I can't claim.”

Zecora ended her strange rhyming speech, smiled and looked searchingly at the newcomer. It unsettled Shino, giving her the feeling that Zecora was seeing deep into her soul, searching her memories, which was more than she was able to do (beyond a few surface details). And, once again, it seemed odd that she was not more disturbed about that. More dream-logic?

“There is a potion though, which might
Provide some magical insight.
It will though take some days to make.
Return here the third time you wake.”

The rest of the visit was lost on Shino; partly because it was between friends who had many shared experiences and references that meant nothing to her, and partly because she had been promised some practical help. Like many ponies (and people), she did not count the blessings she had (support, company, shelter and help in a strange new world) but focussed on those she did not have.

The ponies returned home before dusk, and went their separate ways. Twilight invited Shino to continue to stay with her; to be honest, she was curious about Shino's situation and wondered if Shino's unicorn shape meant she would be able to learn unicorn magic.

Their studies began next morning. To Shino it quickly seemed obvious that she did not have an aptitude for unicorn magic. After all, on Azeroth her first healing spells had just happened naturally; there had only been instruction once she was already a caster. She knew this was true, although she no longer had any memory of the actual events. To Twilight it was not that unusual for unicorns to take a long time to master their magic; however, that was when they were small colts and fillies, not full-grown mares. There was, though Twilight did not mention it to Shino, another element to the study. Shino was a unicorn currently without magic; there was the possibility that some day other unicorns could be without magic (possibly due to Discord or some other agent). If Twilight could study how Shino could learn, that might be useful in the future for other ponies.

The project continued for the next two days without noticeable success. Each evening Twilight's friends called round to have fun and socialise, and they offered support to teacher and pupil in their various distinctive ways. Pinkie Pie announced she had a Unicorn's First Magic Party planned; Rainbow Dash said to just go for it; Rarity said, “It's not that hard, darling,” which was not really helpful; Applejack said, “Ya jus' gotta stick with it an' it'll all come right,” and Fluttershy murmured something (inaudible over the noise of the others) but probably supportive. So the lessons continued.

A Clash of Magics - Part 2

Shino woke the third time much earlier than usual. In fact it was many more than three wakes as her sleep had been very disturbed, but she thought that it probably did not count as a proper wake if the sun was not up. Therefore, as soon as it was, she rose quietly and tip-hooved out of the Library, shutting and latching the door carefully behind her.

She remembered the main route to the Everfree Forest, and hoped that she would be able to get to Zecora's hut safely. Just hoping to be safe was unwise, but she was so keen to get answers that she even considered this risk acceptable, possibly because she did not really know the dangers she could face.

The Forest was more intimidating when alone and in the grey light of dawn, and it was not long before she was wondering if this had been a wise idea. After all, she had previously only had an impression of evil, she had not actually seen any, but she had a growing feeling that if she saw any it would be too late to avoid it. Nevertheless, she was keen to learn what Zecora's potion might be able to provide, so she continued deep into the Forest.

Despite her worries, she arrived at Zecora's hut safely as the forest gloom was just beginning to lighten. The zebra was pottering around gathering items from nearby bushes but looked up, ears cocked and eyes wide, as she heard a single set of approaching hooves.

She relaxed as she saw Shino, but was obviously surprised to see she was unaccompanied.

“So Shino, you have come alone
To visit once again my home.
My potion you are keen to try
To repair magic gone awry.”

With a smile she beckoned Shino into her house and placed the gathered materials on a low shelf. Then she turned and picked up another flask, which she unstoppered and poured into a deep bowl. Shino did not trust herself to speak, so she just pointed at it and looked inquiringly at Zecora, who nodded in confirmation. As Shino reached out for it Zecora placed a hoof over it and looked seriously at her.

“You wish to try, I understand,
But our friends are not at hand.
They will be upset if they miss
The outcome if you now drink this.”

Shino felt a pang of remorse. Until now she had been so focussed on her problems that she had not really considered what her new friends had done for her. How would they feel to find she had sneaked off like this, risked the Everfree Forest alone and tried the potion without their support. She supposed they would be upset, just as she would have been if a patient of hers had behaved similarly. But then the need to know overcame all her principles, she pushed Zecora's hoof aside and downed the potion. It had a sour, liquorice taste, and no other apparent effect. Shino scowled a little as she waited for a result, without apparent success.

“This potion has delayed effect
As you have now come to suspect,
Though not as long as you might fear;
Your magic now comes very near.”

There was something in the zebra's manner and tone that commanded belief. Still not trusting herself to speak, Shino nodded her thanks to Zecora and began her return to Ponyville. Zecora watched, anxiety clear on her face, as Shino left the glade. The wise-zebra had seen, deep down, a kind and caring soul dedicated to healing; similar to Fluttershy in that respect. But overlaying it was a thick layer of death and destruction. What had the stranger been through to accrue so much damage? What might she do when she got her magic back? And would it be possible to send her home?

***

Spike was first up, as usual after a late night study session. He began his day with a small gemstone snack left over from the previous night's supper and a brisk buff of his scales, then did a quick tidy up; putting away large items, gathering the laundry and (in passing) registering that something was wrong but unable to identify what. Idly curious about the niggling puzzle, he lit the stove with a cough of flame, got out the pans, and prepared the pancake mix. Then he set to preparing the breakfast.
A few minutes later all was prepared and he went to call the ponies.

“Twilight,” he called, then opened his mouth to shout “Shino” and the penny dropped. He bounded up the stairs, yelling, “Twilight! Twilight! Shino's gone!” Twilight raised her head sleepily as Spike burst into her bedroom. “What? What?” she mumbled, and yawned widely.

“Twilight, Shino's gone. There's no sign of her anywhere. She must have gone out alone.”

Shaking her head clear of sleep, Twilight muttered, “And we all know where to, don't we?”

Spike's eyes grew huge in astonishment. “Alone? Into the Everfree Forest? But she doesn't have any magic or anything.”

Twilight leapt out of bed and threw the window open. As luck would have it, Rainbow Dash was dozing on a cloud that was floating nearby. Twilight telekinetically prodded her with a twig from the library's “thatch” until she got a coherent response. She beckoned the pegasus closer and told her the news as she arrived. Rainbow Dash was at first dismissive; after all, only a total fool would go into the Forest alone. Twilight scowled at her. “You mean, like we all have at one time or another? And we know the tales, she doesn't.”

Rainbow suddenly looked anxious. “I see what you mean. I'll just take a quick sweep round town to see if I can see any signs, then I'll round up the others if I can't.” Twilight agreed, and hurried downstairs to help Spike provide breakfast for the others when they arrived.

It took less than a quarter of an hour for them all to congregate in the kitchen, grab a few mouthfuls of food, then set out in search of Shino; Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew ahead to scout for signs of her, although when they reached the Forest the tree cover was very dense and the ground was rarely visible.

***

Shino peered into the bushes; she had heard a distinct snap as a branch was trodden on and the whispering of bushes being pushed aside. Then she heard a pony's whimper at the same time as something large gave a deep growl. Shino eased cautiously through the undergrowth to get an idea of what the threat was, wondering to herself why she was not just running to safety. As she neared a slight gap in the trees she caught a glimpse of red and gold, possibly a pony's mane, and then shadows between her and it. A few seconds later one of the shadows slunk across a slightly lit area, and Shino saw that it looked like a wolf-creature made of branches and twigs, scraps of timber magically animated to replicate real creatures. But then it stopped slinking, and rose up... and up... and up... to its full height. It was at least half as tall again as a pony, and then she could see several others that were only a little smaller. Facing them was a golden pony with a red mane, staring at them defiantly while shaking with fear. Between the mare's legs Shino could see a terrified colt laid on the ground, gasping for breath. Seeing the mare standing there alone, unmoving, the timber-wolves had given up stealth and were advancing openly. Shino's memory reminded her that she had faced many foes more formidable than these in her former life; but then it also reminded her that she had faced them with teams of highly skilled combatants used to working as a team. This time she was alone, or paired up with a terrified colt and his mother, so the sensible action was to... RUN! She did... toward the besieged pair. Screaming at the top of her voice, she raced between the predators and the ponies, who promptly turned and bolted. The timber-wolves were startled into a few seconds of immobility, but that was enough to give Shino the head start she needed as she raced after the ponies.

The whole scene had only taken a few seconds, so the others had a short lead as Shino began to gallop after them. Behind she could hear snarls and crashing sounds as the creatures thrust through the bushes after their prey. The pursuit was on.

The ponies galloped for all they were worth, mostly dodging branches and roots that suddenly seemed to always be in the way, as if attempting to stun or trip them. Despite their best efforts they all received scrapes and bruises as they ran. They needed to get well clear of the Forest, then their pursuers would (hopefully) abandon the chase on open ground.

They had nearly made it, and they could see a lightening of the gloom ahead of them, populated by comforting glimpses through gaps in the undergrowth of her friends approaching when, galloping along just at the rear, Shino gasped as, with a thud and skitter, the mare (who had been galloping behind the colt, chivvying him to run at his utmost) tripped and fell. Shino's instinctive reaction was to jump the thrashing body, and for a few paces her panic kept her going, but then the thought of the lone pony left to the attentions of those monsters and the fate of the motherless colt brought her to a skidding halt. She spun, to see the mare lying in a crumpled gasping heap beneath the hulking shapes of the wolf-shaped timber monsters. They loomed over her, snuffling at her with their wooden muzzles. Shino was determined that the mare would not be their prey..

“BY THE LIGHT, YOU SHALL NOT HAVE HER!” she screamed at the top of her voice.

The Light heard. The Light answered.

As the timber-wolves all turned their heads to her and raised their muzzles as if to sniff the air, Shino felt an old familiar tingling sensation course through her. She glanced down and saw the pool of deep purple shadow forming around her feet and releasing “fumes” that curled and swirled around her. As she lifted her gaze back to the approaching timber-wolves her mouth widened into an ecstatic grin.

She was once again a conduit of The Light. She was once again the Shino she had always been (except in shape, of course). Her long experience of combat while exploring Azeroth came to her aid, identifying targets and planning her attack sequence.

At the edge of the forest, the six friends heard Shino's cry and, fearing the worst, swung off the track into the bushes, dashing as fast as possible to her aid. They struggled through tangled bushes and ducked around grasping trees as they sought to rescue the stranger.

Shino's first move was to aim a spell at the largest wolf, probably the alpha (male?) to distract it from its prone prey. A forehoof pointed at it launched a beam of purple light which struck its chest and made it stagger. As it continued for several seconds, Shino was gratified to observe that the other wolves also showed signs of injury, so the 'area of effect' spells still worked as she expected. That was useful to know.

As the beam vanished, Shino aimed her next spell at the alpha, causing a dark cloud to form around its head then implode into its skull, causing it to keen in pain. Now she had its full attention, as it started to stagger toward her. Seeing the alpha turn away from the fallen mare toward a new prey, the other timber-wolves also turned and Shino found herself facing six twig-fanged muzzles. Her grin widened; now she had rediscovered her purpose.

Obviously all in pain, the timber-wolves advanced toward her, initially at a steady, cautious pace. That suited Shino; in quick succession she cast the same spell on all of them, one at a time. Each of them was briefly surrounded by a bluish cloud which seemed to implode into their head. Last to be targeted was the alpha, and the new surge of pain goaded it into accelerating toward her. The other wolves followed suit. Once again Shino cast the purple light beam and all the wolves staggered in pain.

There was a crashing sound behind her, as of several ponies suddenly breaking through the last of the undergrowth and stopping aghast at the sight that met them; a lone, slightly-built pony standing in a weird dark cloud and facing down six huge timber-wolves. And apparently unafraid. Was that bravery or stupidity? Twilight immediately started to cast a telekinetic spell that would grasp Shino and pull her free, but what she saw next made her gasp and the spell fizzled out uncast.

Recognising that the alpha was by far the strongest threat, Shino had calmly cast another spell. The power had surged through her; she had seen a blue shadowy skull cap appear on the alpha's head and it had shaken its head in agonized frustration. As the spell had continued to affect the alpha, her peripheral vision had caught shadowy movement at her sides. A quick glance had shown that the spell had conjured up shadowy wings that spread wide to either side. That was the final confirmation that The Light was granting her usual powers.

The alpha was still in the lead, so Shino cast another spell at it, this time a blue beam of light that slammed into it and slowed its advance toward her. As she had hoped, the other wolves also slowed, perhaps nervous about angering it by reaching the prey first.

One of the timber-wolves obviously decided enough was enough, turned and fled. As it reached their previous prey it lunged aside and sank its fangs into the mare's flank, attempting to salvage something from the encounter. Shino, catching the mare's scream and the movement behind her main targets, hurled a spell that slammed into the wolf and made it gape in pain, dropping the mare, and Shino took that opportunity to cast another spell, this time one that seemed to grasp the mare and haul her through the air to Shino's feet. Seeing her land there, Fluttershy launched into the air, her acceleration almost matching Rainbow Dash's best, and streaked toward the unmoving mare. Shino was already casting other attacks on the approaching timber-wolves, but a few seconds after the mare landed beside her and, as Fluttershy approached unseen behind her, she cast another spell directly down at the injured mare. It looked like a firework slamming into her chest but, as she suddenly gasped and rolled to a sitting position, it seemed to bounce and head in opposite directions. One firework headed toward Fluttershy, the other toward the timber-wolves.

The one aimed at Fluttershy struck first and also split, continuing on toward the other five friends. They saw Fluttershy twitch slightly as she was hit, but continue on to land beside her patient. Then the other firework struck the first timber-wolf. It collapsed instantly, becoming just a pile of brushwood. As it did so, the firework split and aimed at two more wolves, slamming into them just as it had the first, but it also took additional spells from Shino to destroy them. Now only the alpha remained, obstinately determined to rid itself of this turbulent prey before reclaiming its other prize.

Twilight saw what the firework spell had done to the timber-wolf and cast a shield spell as it approached them, preventing it from striking any of them.

The alpha was only a couple of paces away now, and it fought through the pain to snap at Shino, only to have its fangs bounce off a glowing sphere that had suddenly appeared around her. With clinical calmness Shino waved her forehoof one last time and the others saw shadowy spikes appear and drive themselves deep into the alpha's skull. With a whispering rattle, it collapsed to the ground and fell to pieces.

With a final glance around the combat area, Shino dropped the shadow and stepped to Fluttershy's side. As she bent forward to check the mare was all right, she heard her name called.

“SHINO! STEP AWAY FROM THEM!”

Still wearing her grin, she looked round and stepped back involuntarily in shock.

Gone was the friendly Twilight, teacher and friend. In her place was a raging alicorn, head lowered, horn aimed, wings raised in a terrifying threat display. Arrayed beside her was a line of scowling faces that she hardly recognised.

“W-what? What did I do?”

“FLUTTERSHY. STEP AWAY FROM SHINO.”

“Um... I'm not sure I...” was all Fluttershy was able to say before she and the mare were grasped in a telekinetic field and yanked back to join the others. Twilight had barely blinked as she cast the necessary spell. Her attention was still locked onto Shino, and Shino did not know why.

“What... what's the matter? What have I done?”

There was no answer from the six friends as they glanced at each other.

Then Twilight cried, “To the Elements!”

They turned, and galloped off into the forest. Fluttershy gave a sad little smile before she sped away after them, leaving Shino puzzled and hurt. The colt snuggled up to its mother, who looked doubtfully at Shino, then walked slowly toward her.

“We just wanted to say thank you for what you did. I know it seems to have caused some trouble, but we do appreciate it. Really we do.”

Shino nodded her thanks. “Do you have any idea how I've upset them?”

The mare looked embarrassed. “Well, I'm sure I don't know. I expect they'll explain it to you when they're ready.” And with that she turned and chivvied the colt into a gentle trot back to town.

Shino had a heavy heart as she watched them go. Once they were out of sight she began to pace up and down and to wonder what to do next. Eventually it occurred to her that Fluttershy's house was not far, so she set out toward there.

She was approaching the bridge over the stream next to the house when she realised there was a welcoming committee. The bridge was crowded; mainly by a large bear, but also by a lot of other smaller animals. She smiled as she approached them, but they all seemed to scowl, and the bear stood towering over her with a fierce snarl. She stepped back, and discovered that she was only seen as a threat if she was within six paces of the bridge. So she sat down seven paces from the bridge, and waited to see what would happen.

***

Fluttershy pumped her wings as hard as she could, but her friends were galloping so fast that it took her a long time to catch up with the other ponies as they raced through the forest. She finally managed to fly above and alongside the group trying to get their attention, but sadly repeatedly failing. She was too short of breath to call to them, and could not get in front to try to obstruct them. Her plan soon became to keep with them until they stopped, and then try to talk to them.

All six of them dashed down the stairs into the cave that harboured the Tree of Harmony, now restored to health after the Elements of Harmony had been returned to their resting places on their previous visit. Once again they stood before the crystalline structure bearing the gemstones imbued with the Elements, with the strange six-sided crystal casket and its mysterious keyholes held before it on a stout stem like a unique flower.

There they stood in front of it, chests heaving as they regained their breath, except Rarity who threw herself to the floor and sobbed, “Oh my, I am so out of shape for this kind of extreme physical activity.”

Rainbow Dash snickered down at her. “I'm willing to set up a training regime any time you want,” and adopted her Iron Pony pose.

Rarity looked up from under her long mane. “Why thank you Rainbow, that's so considerate... now that I'm here all sweaty and... ugh... smelly...”

“Um... what are we...” began Fluttershy, as soon as she could speak at all.

“Right, no time for idle chatter, we need to recover the Elements,” commanded Twilight. “Everypony look for a way to withdraw them from the tree,” and she stepped up to the trunk for a closer examination.

“Erm, Twily, 're you sure? Ah not claimin' ta be an expert on magical stuff like y'all, but when they fitted back in that looked like a pretty final flash of magic that sealed them in,” said Applejack doubtfully.

“I'm sure there must be a way to get them back in an emergency like this,” insisted Twilight. “I'm sure we can't have been left without a way to defend Equestria, not after all we've done.”

“But why... do... we... um... need...” murmured Fluttershy as the others divided their attention between the Elements on the trunk and the keyholes on the casket, but she subsided into silence as everyone ignored her.

Rainbow Dash turned away from her nose-to-gem examination of the tree. “Okay, I can't see any way to free our Elements. They look definitely glued in like for ever.”

Twilight frowned as she nodded in reluctant agreement. “Well then, it has to be the casket. There must be some sort of clue to the keys we need,” and she began a minute examination of the surface.

“Er.. can I... just...” resumed Fluttershy.

Rarity and Applejack looked at each other. “But Twilight, haven't you been studying the casket ever since it first blossomed? I know I've seen lots of drawings and notes in the library,” Rarity enquired.

“Yes,” answered Twilight testily.

“I... er... don't understand... “

“So what makes ya think that ya'll suddenly find the answer now?” asked Applejack.

“Because this is an emergency, and our destiny will guide us like it has before!” snapped Twilight at her friends, to the surprise of all of them.

There was an awkward moment of silence as Twilight fumed at her lack of success, then Pinkie Pie leapt onto the casket and pirouetted on its lid.

“Pinkie!” snarled Twilight.

“Hey everypony, I have a brilliant idea!” cried Pinkie.

“What?” growled Twilight.

Pinkie stopped pirouetting and leant down until she was muzzle to muzzle with Twilight's fuming scowl. “Listen to Fluttershy.”

“What?” repeated Twilight, rearing back slightly.

“Listen to Fluttershy. She's really clever,” and Pinkie beckoned the pastel pegasus forward. “There, Flutters, the casket is yours,” and she bounced off.

As the others gazed at Fluttershy in silence she slowly flew onto the casket and gently cleared her voice.

Twilight was still scowling. “”Well?” she snapped, silencing Fluttershy as she was summoning up her courage to speak.

“Really clever,” sang Pinkie, silencing Twilight and giving Fluttershy the encouragement she needed.

“Er... I just wondered... why we need... the Elements?”

Twilight gaped at her in disbelief. “Why do we need them? You saw Shino. You saw what she did. She needs to be stopped, and we need the Elements to do it!”

“But... what did we see her do?”

“What?”

“What did we see her do?”

“How can you ask that? It was obvious.”

“What did we see her do?” repeated Fluttershy patiently.

Twilight looked round at the other ponies. “You all saw what she was doing, didn't you?” She was surprised that she did not get the full support she had expected. All of them except Fluttershy and Pinkie nodded half-heartedly, Fluttershy because she was gazing at Twilight enquiringly, Pinkie because she was the only one nodding as hard as she could. Twilight was unsettled as she asked, “Pinkie, you saw it, right?”

Pinkie continued to nod as she responded, “Oh, I saw it, but I think we saw something different. Over to you Fluttershy.”

“Different? How can you have seen it differently”

“What did we see her do?” asked Fluttershy yet again.

“All right,” snapped Twilight, “we saw somepony who cannot do magic summon up a cloud of dark magic, turn into an alicorn, and then cast spells that tore those timber-wolves apart like nothing I've ever seen before.”

“So you saw a... a dangerous threat to Equestria and we came here to... to prepare our defence?”

“Yes, obviously.”

Fluttershy gazed down at a scowlingly restive Twilight for a moment.

“I... I saw something very different. I saw somepony who... who could not do magic, but who had drunk one of Zecora's potions intended to remedy that, call on an... an unknown type of magic to save and heal a... pony who had fallen prey to a pack of... er... timber-wolves we would have struggled to defeat between us. She acted heroically, not... sinisterly, surely?”

“But she turned into an alicorn? In an instant, just like that! How can that be possible? This new magic of hers must be amazingly powerful if she can do that. Dangerously powerful.”

“Why is powerful dangerous? You're powerful, and we don't think you're... dangerous.”

Twilight looked put out at the very suggestion. “Of course not. But I'm me, and we're friends.”

“And she isn't?”

“And we're all bearers of the Elements of Harmony. She isn't.”

“No, she isn't a bearer, but that doesn't in itself make her a... a bad pony.”

“Well of course not, but...” Twilight paused to put her thoughts in order.

“But...?”

“...we saw her do really evil things.”

“No Twilight. We saw her do... things. We put our own slant on whether they were good... or evil.”

Twilight scowled, clearly unconvinced.

“She's kinda got a point, Twily. Shouldn't we be talkin' to her and findin' out how she sees it?” suggested Applejack.

“Oh right. Like she'd happily admit she's a dangerously powerful dark magician,” Twilight scoffed. Applejack looked slightly offended by the response.

“Maybe not,” continued Fluttershy, “but how do we look to her now? She gets her magic back, probably thanks to a potion made by our friend Zecora, uses it to save a mare and her colt from a... a terrible fate, and when she turns to us with a big smile, we run away to find a way to... destroy her. And she's evil?”

All the other ponies looked at Fluttershy in awe. It was rare to hear such a speech from her, and the picture she was painting made them feel awkward, though Twilight continued to scowl.

“Really clever,” crowed Pinkie Pie.

All six of them looked at each other, then Fluttershy leapt down from the casket and trotted away to the stairs up from the cavern. At the foot she turned to look back at the others.

“Really really clever,” piped Pinkie Pie as she pogoed across to join her.

That was enough to get the others to begin the journey back, with a disgruntled Twilight trailing along behind.

They returned to the site of the combat to find that Shino had left. There was a discussion about where she would have gone, but it was soon decided that she would not have returned to the Library, but might have set off to Fluttershy's house.

A few minutes later they saw Shino sitting dejectedly near the bridge to Fluttershy's house. She looked up as she heard them approach, but there was no change of expression as she rose to greet them. The six drew up in a line abreast, ranged either side of Twilight as usual. There was a moment of silence as the two sides assessed each other.

Then Shino's expression changed to a resigned look and her shoulders fell. “Come on then. Do whatever you need to do.”

Fluttershy stepped forward. “What... what do you expect us to do, Shino?”

Shino shrugged. “Twilight looks as though she wants me dead, and you're all friends and you all support each other, so just get it over with.” Hanging her head as she was, she did not see the look of shock on Twilight's face.

“We're not all Twilight. We are friends, but we don't just... follow blindly...”

“Shino,” interrupted Twilight, “what made you think I wanted you dead?”

“Didn't you? It looked very like it.”

“I would never want to kill anypony. I did want to subdue and imprison you for the safety of other ponies, but never kill.”

Shino shrugged again in response as Fluttershy resumed her part in the conversation.

“Kill or imprison are not the... the only options. We've come back to ask you what happened. Twilight saw things... happen, and they looked bad to her, but not all of us have the same view. Twilight, erm... you say what you saw, step by step, and let Shino answer.”

Twilight nodded and stepped forward.

“Shino, when we arrived you were surrounded by a pool and cloud of evil dark magic.”

“Shadow magic. I know it might seem like playing with words, but it is just another aspect of The Light's power.”

Twilight sniffed in disdain.

“Oh, Twilight, all of my magical abilities come from The Light, as I told you. And The Light supplies that power in three forms; Holy, Discipline, and Shadow. Holy is essentially all about healing. Discipline is defence with a little healing. Shadow is attack with a little healing.

“When I last used The Light I was fighting for my life on Azeroth, so when it came back it was natural for the Shadow form to manifest itself, especially when I was about to fight for that mare's life. And, after all, where there is light there must be shadow.”

Twilight snorted in response. “So what about turning into an alicorn?”

Shino looked blankly at her. “Turning into an alicorn? How could I do that?”

“That's what I'm asking you.”

Shino thought for a moment. “What did you see that made you think you saw that?”

“Make me think I saw that? I did see it. You suddenly spread your wings wide as you were casting your 'shadow' spells. But you're a unicorn, and unicorn's don't have wings, so you turned into an alicorn.”

As Twilight mentioned the wings Shino had realised what had been seen. She wore a small smile as she responded to Twilight's accusation.

“That was no alicorn. It was a side-effect of one the spells I was casting at the wolves.” She thought better of naming the spell; they would no doubt find 'Devouring Plague' upsetting. “When I cast the spell it creates a pair of shadow wings for a few seconds. They don't do or mean anything, but they can be intimidating in combat.”

“Oh.” Twilight looked a little sheepish as another foundation of her argument crumbled. “Well then, your spells are horribly damaging. You were able to destroy those wolves far faster than any other pony could have. Why would you know such awfully destructive magic?

“I come from Azeroth. It's a world of struggle, of combat. There are a few farmers and merchants, but most people there are adventurers. The world is full of enemies, natural and unnatural, instinctive to intelligent. So that is what Azerothian magic is designed to cope with.”

“What about that firework spell you used against Fluttershy?”

“Firework spell? Oh, you mean 'Cascade'. That wasn't against Fluttershy. It's what's called a smartspell. I cast it on the injured mare. As she is not a threat to me it hit her as a healing spell. It then bounced to two other targets. One was Fluttershy, who it healed. The other was a timber-wolf, who was a threat, so it injured it. The Fluttershy one bounced toward you but you must have shielded against it because, unlike Fluttershy, you're still scratched and scraped. The timber-wolf one hit more of them, causing more injuries.”

Twilight hung her head for a moment, then looked at the others. “All right, this time I'll listen, not just judge. What do you think we should do?”

As they all debated who should speak first, Shino held up a hoof. “Can I just say something before you decide?”

The others nodded.

“While I've been sitting here I've wondered why I've been brought to this place. It seems I have come to a wonderful land of relative happiness and harmony where my ordinary combat magic is seen as dangerously overpowered. As The Light has a purpose in everything that happens, I have to wonder why I am here, with my particular skills. I wonder if I am here because there is a threat coming that your present defences couldn't cope with, but my Azerothian training has prepared me for.”

All of them looked a little shocked as she finished, and she stood back as they huddled together to discuss their options. It took quite a while, and Shino was careful to not pay attention to who said what; she did not want to know.

Eventually they turned back to her. Twilight was again the spokespony; the furious scowl was gone, though she was not as yet smiling.

“Shino, we are concerned about your magic, because it is very different to what we know. We are not sure it will be safe for you to return to town, especially when the pair you rescued start telling everypony what happened.

“So we wonder if you would mind staying here? Fluttershy says you can use one of her sheds out the back that needs renovating.”

Shino nodded her agreement. It was much better than she had been afraid it might be.

“But,” continued Twilight, “we also need to know more about this world of yours and the magic you're using. Do you agree to be a test subject for our investigation?”

“Of course I will,” agreed Shino. “I agree to any investigation you need to make.” Barring dissection, she thought to herself. “And I can defend Ponyville against wandering forest-dwellers if needed.”

Fluttershy looked at her new tenant with a little anxiety. She hoped Shino would not be too quick to cast her devastating spells against wanderers...

Worlds of Contrasts

Twilight Sparkle was looking forward to today, as she almost always did; every day there was something new to learn, but today she would begin her new investigation in earnest. After a few days to allow Shino, the mysterious newcomer, to settle in, today they were about to start to answer the questions that had been troubling her from before that astounding display in the Everfree Forest. From her first appearance Shino had presented puzzles; who was she? how did she get here? why was she here?

Then there had been the Forest encounter, when Shino had suddenly demonstrated astonishing command of dark (sorry, thought Twilight, I meant shadow) magic. Suddenly answering those questions had become much more important. So they had agreed to meet at Shino's new dwelling, which she had spent the past few days clearing out and turning into a home.

It was mid-afternoon when Twilight finished her regular duties and made her way to Fluttershy's house. After a delightful short chat with her friend and then Shino as well, she and the strange unicorn went next door and sat down either side of a small table provided by Fluttershy and dishes of tea provided by Angel, Fluttershy's almost-always grumpy rabbit friend. Twilight complimented Shino on her hard work; the dilapidated outbuilding had been refurbished and was now a cosy (if basic) home for the strange unicorn.

After a little small-talk, they began to discuss the matters that particularly concerned Twilight. It would take a very long time to record the conversation verbatim, so what follows is a summary of the essential points.

Twilight started by asking what exactly The Light is. Shino had expected this, and had spent much of the previous few days wondering about that herself. The problem with answering the question was that she had never asked it of her teachers. She had simply accepted The Light as a force, or entity, or both; after all, she did not have to know what it was or how it worked because she knew what it did through her, and that was enough for her to follow her destiny. She had finally decided that she could best explain it as an all-encompassing force that bound all creatures together across the worlds. Some were able to tap into it or channel it to fulfil their purpose in life.

Twilight did not understand; she kept asking Shino what the source of the Light was, and Shino kept stating that it did not have one, that it did not matter, that the Light just is, like the weather and the sun and moon. Twilight looked even more puzzled at that statement, so Shino suggested they continue their discussion as they strolled around the meadow, then tried to explain about weather just happening and the sun and moon just circling across the sky in their regular cycles. Twilight's expression changed to astonishment, and so she explained that in Equestria the weather is controlled by the pegasi, and the sun and moon are controlled by the two princesses in Canterlot. Shino looked confused and untrusting; she stated that no one being should have that much power over a force of nature. She had seen it, and it had never ended well.

Twilight nodded, and said that there had been problems far in the past, but everything had now been resolved; in fact she had had a part in that resolution. Seeing Shino's interest, Twilight went on to tell her the tale of Nightmare Moon, and Shino then realised why they were so terrified of her power. It was a classic case of there but for the grace of The Light go I; it had happened to an apparently normal pony, and because of jealousy, which everypony is likely to have experienced to some degree.

Power corrupts and all that.

After a moment of reflection Shino then told Twilight that Equestria was lucky. Twilight was astonished that anypony could describe Nightmare Moon as a lucky event. Realising how surprised Twilight was, Shino explained about the elements on Azeroth and went on to mention the Dragon Aspects. She then asked if they had dragons in Equestria apart from Spike, because baby dragons on Azeroth (known as whelps) all had wings, which Spike lacked. In response, Twilight showed Shino images of the Valley of the Dragons. Shino was obviously underwhelmed, and Twilight looked shocked at her nonchalance; Shino then explained that the dragons in the image would be small fry on Azeroth, young adults at best. At Twilight's astonished look, Shino laughed and said that she had ridden bigger dragons than them, and then began to explain the Dragon Aspects, the greatest creatures on Azeroth.

“The Dragon Aspects are embodiments of the... abstract elements on Azeroth,” Shino began, sitting down and beckoning for Twilight to do the same. Twilight sat to attention, like a filly at story time. Well, like her at story time.

“Well... I say abstract elements... How to explain it..” Shino rubbed her chin in thought.

“Okay, I'll just skip that; hopefully it'll make sense as we go. There are five Dragon Aspects.” She paused momentarily, then her eyes glazed over slightly. “No.. four.” Then she looked around, digging through old memories. “Wait.. three. Or two. Will be two. Hmm” Shino looked dumbfounded for a moment, then caught Twilight's look of innocent curiosity and coughed. “Anyway, that's not relevant.

“What's important is that there were five Dragon Aspects. Dragons had lived on Azeroth since ancient times, even before the Titans showed up.” At Twilight's blank look, she struggled to explain it in terms that would be understood. “Sort of... like.. giant wandering.. Princesses? Let's go with that.” Shino awkwardly scratched the back of her head with a forehoof. “They wandered the cosmos, travelling from world to world, moulding each in their image and blessing them with life. Well when they reached Azeroth, they found it already infected with immense evil. After a great war, the Titans defeated this evil, the Old Gods, and sealed them beneath the planet. Knowing that the Old Gods would eventually rise, and that they could not be killed without destroying the planet, the Titans instead appointed the five most powerful dragons as guardians, each blessed with a portion of their power.

“A great black dragon, Neltharion, was blessed with power over the earth, and the deep places within.

“Alexstrasza, a red dragon, was given the role as life's warden, with the power to create and destroy as she saw fit.

“Nozdormu, a wise bronze drake, was placed as a guardian of the time streams, and as a result saw into all eternity.

“Malygos, an immense blue dragon, was given stewardship over magic, and the ley lines that form a magical network throughout Azeroth.

“And Ysera, a serene green drake, became the dreamwalker, ruling over her realm of the Emerald Dream, a haven for druids and nature.”

Shino suddenly caught the sound of quill on parchment, and realised that Twilight was writing everything down, but her ears were still attentive. “Go on,” Twilight said quietly. “I'm still listening. I just need to get everything down.”

Impressed with Twilight's apparent ability to multi-task, Shino paused to gather her thoughts. Her hoof absent-mindedly traced a line on the floor as she remembered her previous life. Realising Twilight had stopped writing and was now looking at Shino in worry, she coughed and sat back up, still looking distracted.

“Sorry. Uh... where was I? Oh yes. Power corrupts.”

“The first of the Aspects to fall was Neltharion. Previously known as the Earth-Warder, he dug too deep and strayed too close to the Old Gods' prison. They corrupted his thoughts, slowly, poisoning him from within, until he cracked and became an insane, omnicidal maniac, even forgoing his previous name and rebranding himself 'Deathwing'. Fortunately the other Aspects managed to seal him away before he did too much damage.”

“Omnicidal?” queried Twilight.

“Yes, meaning destroying everything.”

“Ah, that's what I was afraid it meant. Sorry, go on.”

Shino recalled her recent words to regain her place in her explanation. “Except, there was one thing he did achieve before he was sealed, and that set the second aspect on the path to self-destruction. Malygos.”

Shino sighed quietly. She hadn't been involved in that campaign, but she knew someone who had, and who was hit hard by it.

Slowly, she began again. “Each aspect has their own dragonflight; essentially their children, with matching colour and similar powers, but not as pronounced as the aspects themselves. As such, we referred to each dragonflight by colour.

“When Neltharion fell from grace, his black dragonflight followed suit. But, before he was sealed away, they had all but wiped out Malygos's blue dragonflight. While he acted strong, it hit him far harder than the others realised. He became reserved and stopped talking to others, locking himself away.” Twilight nodded her understanding; she had seen, had been, that pony.

“When he emerged much later, he was very different, declaring that magic was being used without restraint, and that he would wipe out all magic users on Azeroth. The other dragonflights had no choice but to put him down.”

Shino looked to Twilight, who stared back with wide eyes. A small, sad grin formed on Shino's face. “Yeah, that was my reaction when I was told. But there was nothing anyone could do. He couldn't be reasoned with. He was too far gone.”

Shino stretched, and looked across the meadow to the edge of the forest. The sun was beginning to set, and she looked nervously at it. What would happen if the sun goddess suddenly decided not to lower the sun? Would they burn to death under an intolerable heat? She shuddered, then felt a hoof on her shoulder, and looked into Twilight's sad but caring face. Shino smiled slightly, before looking away.

“Well.” said Twilight, “I can understand why you'd be unsure now, especially after those first days here. I don't know how I'd cope if I suddenly couldn't use my magic. I mean, I know it won't happen, but I...”

“Malygos was nothing”

“H-huh?” Twilight stammered, shocked. “What do you mean?”

“To me, I mean. I mean he was a threat but my power comes from The Light, not magic. I wasn't there. I knew someone who was...” She looked thoughtful for a moment. “But I wasn't. Malygos means nothing to me.”

Before Twilight could somewhat relax, Shino continued.

“The other two did.”

Shino found herself shaking slightly. Breathing slowly and deeply, she tried to calm herself, but kept her eyes on the floor. She vaguely felt hooves wrap around her neck as the alicorn pulled her into a hug, but she was too distracted. Why now? Nothing had been wrong before. Before she could stop herself, she began giggling, which moved on to full roaring laughter, even as tears rolled down her face. Twilight stepped back nervously, lifting Shino's chin up to look at her.

“Hey... What's wrong?”

Shino had a huge grin plastered on her face, but Twilight could tell a fake smile. She had seen them on all of her friends at some point, and she had used them more than she would like to admit, especially recently.

“You haven't seen Azeroth, Twilight. You don't know what it's like. How horrible it is,” Shino stated simply, calmly. “Even I didn't realise until I arrived here.”

“What... What do you mean?”

“Azeroth is a world of conflict, Twilight. A world of war. I'm a priest. That means I either kill things myself, or I heal other people while they kill things. When I first felt the call of The Light as a child it was to heal local people who were sick or injured. But from my mid-teens, all the rest of my life, I've killed things. Every day. I've never had a rest. Never been able to reflect. It was always kill something before it killed me, continue on. On Azeroth, you can't be remorseful. You can't hesitate. If you hesitate you die. But now... I realise what I've done. What we've done.”

“Shino...” Twilight began, but was cut off.

“No, Twilight. No. I never finished my story.” Shino gestured to the quill and parchment, left haphazardly on the floor. Twilight followed her gaze, then looked back at her, conflicting emotions moving across her face before she relented, picking up the quill and preparing to write.

Shino sighed deeply before she continued. “I said there were five Aspects. Currently, or at least when I left Azeroth, there are two. Or three. It's a bit confusing.” She couldn't help but notice the small curious smile on Twilight's face.

Stretching and making herself comfortable, Shino breathed deeply and wiped the tears from her eyes. “Malygos was destroyed. Deathwing... wasn't. He was sealed away where he could do no harm. Except... he broke free. And in the process, tore the world asunder, reshaping the land and tearing great holes in the barriers between dimensions. The elements ran wild and caused even more chaos. He attacked my city.” Shino tensed, growling slightly. “Everything was thrown into disarray, alliances forming and ceasing randomly and without warning. For a time you couldn't be sure if your best friend might tomorrow turn out to be your worst enemy.

“But we persevered. All of us. All the races of Azeroth previously locked in eternal conflict turned to face this new enemy.” She couldn't help but smile at that, but a dark look flashed across Shino's face for a moment. Twilight could almost feel the room darken. “Eventually.

“We battled Deathwing's forces on all fronts, beating them back to the pits from whence they came. We fought on Azeroth, we fought on the elemental planes. We reclaimed our lands and took the fight to him. The greatest warriors we could muster joined an assault on the Aspect. And we killed him. It took all of us, and the other Aspects, but we killed him. He tried to destroy Azeroth and we denied him.” Shino couldn't help but feel proud, and that pride must have spread to her face. It had certainly spread to her voice.

“You were part of it I take it?”

Shino looked to Twilight, and nodded. “Yes. But I was a healer then. Still am from time to time. I still remember his body...” Shino shuddered. “It was so consumed with chaotic magic he wasn't even a dragon any more. In fact, I don't think he was much more than the pure spirit of destruction, distilled and sealed in a metal body.

“But we saved our world. That was most important.”

All that could be heard was quiet scratching as Twilight finished her notes. Then a long silence as Shino reflected, and Twilight watched.

“You said there were two aspects. But only two have been... destroyed. What about the third one?”

Shino turned to Twilight and could not stop herself from grinning. “Have you ever tried to fight a time god?”

***

Now Twilight sat there in shock, and Shino had to laugh at her expression. She had explained about Nozdormu, and Murozond, about fighting the Dragon of Time, with the assistance of the Dragon of Time, using a time artefact that reset time...

Twilight's head was spinning before long and Shino just grinned. “Imagine being there. Imagine doing the same battle hundreds of times, each time scratching the dragon slightly more, until you eventually kill him. I won't lie, it was enjoyable, even if it was a depressing time.” Shino caught Twilight's look of worry. “Twilight, on Azeroth you have to learn to either brush off killing, or learn to enjoy it. You won't survive otherwise.”

As Twilight opened her mouth to speak Shino stopped her. “Don't worry, I fall squarely in the first category. You see the amount of death I've seen...” Shino trailed off, but then perked up and smiled at the anxious alicorn in front of her. “...Anyway, what were we even talking about? I feel like I've gone on a bit of a tangent.” She glanced out of the window at the sun as it passed under the horizon, and felt a pang of sadness. Twilight followed her gaze and watched the light slowly fade from the sky.

“I should probably get back to Spike. He's probably wondering where I've got to,” Twilight said absent-mindedly, slowly getting up. Her knees ached and she had writer's cramp in her forehead, but that is what happens when you spend hours sitting down scribbling. Or at least she assumed it was hours. She really had lost track of time, rather like Shino against her time-dragon.

The two of them called in next door; Twilight to say farewell, Shino to share a pleasant dinner, then the unicorn strolled back home and sat in the doorway gazing up at Luna's handiwork as she let the aches of an Azerothian career wash over her.

***

Twilight had said that she would be busy all the next day, so Shino helped Fluttershy with her chores. The animals had long forgiven her for her destructive behaviour; they had been understandably upset at the thought that she might continue it against other wildlife such as them. The reconciliation had been greatly helped by Shino's feeding them and Fluttershy's recommendation.

It was the following afternoon that Twilight returned to continue their discussion. This time they turned to Shino's previous observation that she was on Equestria for a reason. Shino was sure that The Light had brought her to Ponyville in order to strengthen the combat abilities of the local ponies against a threat they would otherwise be unable to deal with. And she also wondered why it had specifically chosen her, rather than any of the other priests available to it. Twilight privately thought this rather boastful. She accepted that the demonstration they had seen where Shino had overcome several timber-wolves had been impressive, but she was also worried that a stranger could blithely claim such a responsibility. After all, she was used to herself and the other Bearers supporting the Princesses (she was still uncomfortable including herself in that phrase) should there be a threatening situation. She had wondered whether her disquiet was partly fuelled by jealousy, by the thought that someone else could claim that responsibility. In all honesty, she was not sure.

Twilight asked Shino to tell her more about life on Azeroth, if she could face it. Shino smiled and agreed, saying that it was important for Twilight to understand the contrast. She went on to describe the way so many of the population were adventurers, and how they were divided into different classes; about hunters who could call upon any beast to fight for them, mages who wielded arcane magics that would make Twilight envious, of warriors who wielded immense blades to slay their foes, rogues who sneaked around and infiltrated enemy establishments, warlocks who could call on demonic beings or powers in the service of good, holy warriors who smote their foes with the power of The Light, and priests like Shino who also used The Light to heal or defeat as necessary.

Then she explained about the different races and how they were split between the Horde and Alliance, which she was disappointed about when there were always external threats to both of them that they should be co-operating against. She continued by explaining the personalities at the top of each force, and how everything had deteriorated since the abdication of Thrall.

By then the sun was again setting, and Twilight and Fluttershy set off for town to attend Pinkie's latest party. Shino stayed in her little shed and once again marvelled at the beauty of the night. She though to herself that Luna would have known how valued her skills were if Shino had been on Equestria a thousand years previously, and the whole Nightmare Moon episode would have been avoided. But then perhaps it had been a cathartic event necessary for the well-being of Equestrian society. With that thought, she went to bed.

***

The next day Shino decided to begin her 'duties' as guardian against wandering denizens of the forest. Packing a small lunch, she made her way to a nearby knoll that gave a fine view along a large part of the forest edge, including the road to Ponyville. She settled herself down and waited, letting her mind wander to meditation of The Light while her attention remained watching for potential threats, a skill she had developed on active service.

The day passed peacefully, as she hoped most would, and so she trotted back home as the sun set. That set her thinking about what she would do overnight. Her first thought was a tripwire of some design. Perhaps she could discuss that with Fluttershy in the morning.

The next morning was spent helping Fluttershy again, partly to get to know her other neighbours (the local wildlife) better, but she did eventually manage to get a word with the pegasus regarding her idea. Fluttershy was not entirely convinced, and had a lengthy discussion with her animal friends. It was generally felt that a tripwire might be a problem for some of the more secretive, and that led into a discussion about what the likely threat was. There had been a few cases of large predators or swarms leaving the forest, but more problems over the years from ponies wandering into it, sometimes through ignorance but more often through a dare. Perhaps Shino's attention should actually be focussed more toward that problem.

Shino rubbed her chin with her hoof as she thought about it. Her shadow magic was more oriented toward defeating threats, not so much blocking straying fillies and colts. This would need some serious consideration.

Nevertheless, she made her way out to the knoll and settled herself there for the afternoon, trying to watch both directions of travel, but fortunately it was again quiet. Packing the remains of her small snack, she returned home for dinner.

The following morning she was just about to go next door when she got the sensation she was being watched. A sudden turn left the impression that somepony or something had just dodged out of the doorway. Shino sighed; she supposed that it would only be a matter of time before her blank flanks got attention.

“Hello, come on out.”

A familiar yellow filly with a red mane poked her head around the door jamb and grinned up at her.

“Oh, hello. Applebloom isn't it? I expect you've heard about what I've been up to?”

Applebloom nodded eagerly. Shino was surprised that Applebloom's head was still the only part of her that was visible. She edged sideways in an attempt to see what the filly was trying to hide, and then heard whispering behind her.

“Have you got friends there?”

Applebloom gave Shino a sheepish grin, and then two more heads appeared in the doorway. As the new faces gazed wordlessly at her Shino felt a little awkward and turned away slightly to get a sip of water.

“Whoooooooooaaaaaah!” she heard gasped from the newcomers, and their eyes had grown huge as they stared at her flank.

“Ya see, Ah told ya she didn't have a cutie-mark, but y'all said Ah was joshin'. Well, Ah was right,” and Applebloom stuck her tongue out at the others.

“All right, what is this? Have you just come to look at the new freak in town?”

All three heads shook in denial.

“So what is this about then?”

The three looked at each other, then all nodded in answer to an unasked question. They took a few steps sideways and Shino could now see them clearly. They were wearing... capes? She looked at them quizzically.

The other two nudged Applebloom, who drew herself up and put on a serious expression.

“We, the founder members, wish to invite you to join the Cutie-Mark Crusaders!” and with that they all three leapt into the air and high-hooved each other.

“The what crusaders?”

“Cutie- Mark Crusaders,” answered the pale grey unicorn in the middle sporting a curly mulberry and rose mane.

“We're awesome!” added the mustard coated pegasus with the cerise mane.

“Yes, well, I'm sure you are,” smiled Shino, “but what makes you think I should join you?”

“Well, duh,” said Scootaloo, “we're here to help you get your cutie-mark!”

“Why are you called Cutie-Mark Crusaders?”

“'Cause we're on a quest to get our cutie-marks,” responded Applebloom.

Shino pondered their offer for a moment. “If you're going to help me get mine, how have you not managed to get yours?” she asked.

All three dropped their heads. “See, I told you she wouldn't want to join a bunch of kids,” murmured the unicorn dejectedly.

“Come now,” Shino relented, “I didn't say I wouldn't join, I just asked a question.” It was touching the way their faces lit up just because she had not actually refused. “Can I just say that I'm not sure you need an adult getting in the way of your quest, but if you want to adopt me as a mascot I don't mind that,” and she smiled at them.

The three colts looked at each other again with wide eyes, then threw themselves in the air and high-hooved again. “Cutie-Mark Crusaders! Yaay!”

“Hey, let's go and make her cape,” cried the unicorn.

“Wait, wait!” called Shino. They stopped in mid-stride and looked back at her. Shino laughed at their slightly anxious expressions. “You haven't told me your names yet.”

They again swapped looks, then the unicorn stepped forward. “I'm Sweetie Belle and I'm Rarity's sister...”

“Ah,” Shino nodded.

“...and I'm Scootaloo. I'm no-one's sister, but I'm a fan of Rainbow Dash.”

“Isn't everypony?” asked Shino. “Well, pleased to meet you all. I look forward to getting my cape.”

“See you tomorrow,” they cried and galloped, or in Scootaloo's case scooted, happily away.

Shino grinned happily as they left. It was nice to have made someponies happy.