Prophecy

Ponyville seldom had bad weather. The only exceptions being the occasional heavy downpour when the weather team accidentally skipped a scheduled shower. As such, a clear night sky blanketed the humble hamlet in its cool spring time embrace. Most ponies would take advantage of such conditions to enjoy Luna's star weaving, all but two ponies that is. About a mile away from Twilight's castle stood a simple two-story stone cottage with a similar brown shingled roof as the houses native of the town's residential districts, with the only unique feature being a mailbox with its resident's Cutie Mark plastered on the sides. Surrounded by countless books and scrolls sat two ponies in the Cottage's living room with an ornate redwood coffee table standing between them sat two ponies, a light pink unicorn mare and a less then confident looking onyx Karkadann stallion.

"Are ya sure about this Starlight?" Noon asked, staring at a stack of blank paper resting on the table.

"Positive," she nodded. "Just look at your Cutie Mark. It practically screams Rune Focus."

He sighed.

"Okay. So what do I have to do?"

"First, you need to materialize a magical medium to form a catalyst for your magic. That should allow you channel your magic into your words more effectively."

"Okay, how do I do that?"

She smiled at him.

"First, focus some of your magic into your horn."

He nodded and obeyed, allowing a dark violet aura to wrap around his horn.

"Next close your eyes and think back to when you got your Cutie Mark. Think about how you felt when you discovered what your special talent was and how doing what you're meant to do made you feel."

Noon flinched a little at that.

Humans didn't have Cutie Marks so he scrambled to find what could possibly be the next best thing. He thought back to when he first started reading for fun, all the times his Grand Mother would read to him before bed, when he started writing stories at first just to kill time before receiving praise from his Mother and her friends for his apparent skill, and finally when he decided that it was what he wanted to do and the flame that burned inside when he finally put that desire to work.

As these memories flashed before his mind's eye, the magic gathered in his horn began to change. Small balls of dark-violet energy, no bigger than a dime, drifted out of his horn and stopped about a foot away from the ebon Unicorn's face. Slowly at first, but as the seconds ticked by, the orbs moved much faster and in growing groups until it looked like a swarm of purple fireflies had gathered in front of him. Starlight watched in stunned silence, the brilliant display before her long sense removed her ability to speak. In the eyes of the experienced Mage, this was no mere light-show. It was magic in its oldest and most primal form, the magic of a pony's heart ready to take a form best suited to aid its master in his endeavors. For a moment, the mass of orbs simply floated in a dense swarm, not entirely sure what to do with themselves at the moment before, without warning, they surged together into the center of the swarm, rapidly merging into a quickly growing orb of violet energy. Then, just as suddenly, a bright flash filled the room, momentarily blinding Starlight.

As she blinked the stars out of her eyes, Noon opened his eyes, caught off guard by the sudden burst of magic energy that exploded in front of his face. What he saw was an even bigger surprise. Hovering in front of him was a single violet, glowing, quill. At first glance, it didn't look like anything special, but when he tried to grab it with his magic, he found that he didn't need to. The floating writing implement moved almost in synch with his thoughts, as if it was a part of his body.

"Holy," he muttered to himself as he stared at the magic quill.

And then, just as quickly as it appeared, the quill winked out of existence.

"What the heck was-"

"YOU DID IT!" Starlight cheered, clapping her hooves together. "It was for about six seconds, but you did it!"

He blinked.

"You mean that was my-"

"Yup!" she smiled.

Noons eyes widened as what just happened sunk in.

"I'm a Rune Type?"

She nodded.

Noon's body trembled as his happiness started to build within him, gradually reaching its breaking point until.

"I'M A RUNE TYPE!!!"

Starlight giggled as she watched the stallion whoop and haller like a pony at a hoofball game.

"Easy pal," she laughed, pulling Noon out of his one pony parade. "It's still a bit too early to celebrate."

"Huh?"

"You know how to form a catalyst, but now you need to learn how to maintain it."

"Oh," he blushed, chuckling awkwardly.

Starlight sighed, a smirk teasing at the corners of her lips.

"Now lets do it again. You ready?"

"Yes Ma'am!"

"Then.........START!"

***

"Ugh," I groaned as Twilight led me to the southern out-skirts of Ponyville.

"Are you okay back there?"she asked over her shoulder.

"Your student's a Tyrant," I panted.

Twilight cringed.

"She pushed you that hard?"

I nodded.

"Not really her fault I guess," I sighed as I staggered to her left. "I never really used magic all that much before coming to Ponyville so having to spend the whole night using it took a lot out of me."

Twilight gaped at me.

"She had you practice all night?!"

"Not exactly," I cringed. "I think about three hours in I passed out."

"What?!" She gasped. "Noon Scribe, you can't push yourself so hard! Doing so could cause serious damage to your body's magic network and for a pony like you, that could be a death sentence!"

I flinched at the mention of the word "death".

"I-I'll keep that in mind," I cringed.

Twilight sighed then flashed me a calm smile.

"Please do. In fact, I think I'll have to have a talk with Starlight to make sure this doesn't happen again in the future."

"Thanks," I said sheepishly. "So....are you sure I should meet Fluttershy? The last couple of times I met your friends it didn't quite go over so well."

Twilight nodded.

"Absolutely! Fluttershy's the nicest pony in all of Equestria. If their's anypony who would be willing to give you a chance, it would be her."

Makes sense, I thought as Fluttershy's cottage came into view. I mean, hell, she gave Discord a shot so why not?

I was going to regret that thought.

Twilight knocked on the door. After a moment of nothing happening, the door to Fluttershy's cottage slowly slid open.

"Hello?" Twilight called out, stepping into the house.

There was no response.

Twilight looked back at me, a concerned look on her face. Guessing what she wanted, I stepped into the silent cottage. It didn't take me long to feel uncomfortable. The Cottage was eerily quiet, especially for a place known for being flooded with animals. I couldn't even see the demon spawn rabbit Angel anywhere, which filled me with a mix of relief and worry. As much as I didn't want to put up with a demonic bunny rabbit, I could at least consider that a form of normalcy in this world. I cautiously crept through the living room, my instincts telling me to get the hell out of there as I looked around. Off and on I would hear some small creaks or scratching in the walls and floorboards, but I didn't give it all that much thought. That was my first mistake.

Suddenly, I heard a muffled scream behind me. I spun around, expecting to see some monster or something but instead found nothing. That was the problem. Twilight was right behind me not even a second ago. A second after that thought crossed my mind, a couple of loud thuds could be heard coming from behind a door to my left on the other side of the living room. Looking around for something I could use to defend myself, just in case, I spotted an empty pet food bowl on the floor. It wasn't that much bigger than what you would use to feed a medium sized dog, but it would have to do. With little choice, I grabbed the bowl with my magic and moved towards the door. I listened carefully for anymore sounds, if nothing else, then to give me an idea of how many threats I had to deal with. After another two minutes of silence, I slowly opened the door.

When I did I learned three things: One, it was the kitchen. Two, there was about forty small rodents holding various lengths of rope and string. And three, Fluttershy could hold a frying pan while flying.

Fuck me.....

"Hiya!!!"

*CLANG*

*THUD*

***

Darkness. That was all I could see when my senses returned. The sky, the ground, everything looked like it was made of black ink. On unsteady legs, I staggered onto my hooves.

"Ugh, where am I?" I groaned, trying to get my bearings. "Did Fluttershy kill me or something? If so, I want a do over!"

It was then that something slowly started to faze out of the darkness. At first I couldn't make out any features, but that changed as it got closer. It was about seven feet tall and vaguely pony shaped. Covering most of its body was a tattered grey cloak with a moth-eaten hood. Sticking out of the hood was what could only be the bony jaw of a horse with a pair of red glowing orbs being the only other thing that I could see in the hood. That, and a wicked three foot long black horn. The creature towered over me, its red orbs burrowing into me, but they didn't hold anger, but curiosity.

"Fear not former human," It said, its voice sounding like an echoing dry whisper. "Your time has not yet come."

I gulped.

"R-Really? Good! Think maybe you could send me back then?"

Death laughed.

"In due time my friend," it said, lowering its meatless muzzle to my own. "Tell me, how do you like your new life?"

I stepped back, startled by both the unicorn skull now fully visible just a foot away from my face and by Death's question.

"I-It's good, I guess," I stammered. "Not to crazy about getting jumped every other day, but its defiantly better than my old life."

"Hmmm. Interesting," Death mussed. "Would you say you've formed a bond with this world?"

Again, Death threw me for a loop. I thought about what I had been through sense I came to Equestria. All of the ponies that wanted to help me and all the ones that hurt me.

"Not yet."

Death tilted its head.

"Not yet?"

I shook my head.

"But," I smirked. "I have made a few bonds with the ponies here. For now, that's good enough for me."

Death stared at me in silence for a few minutes, then, suddenly, it threw its head back and laughed.

"Magnificent!" it roared, its tone jovial. "It looks as though her judgement was just!"

I tilted my head at that.

"Her?"

Death chuckled, again lowering its head to my level.

"Some other time my friend. Let's just say someone has some big plans for you."

I raised a brow at that.

Death just chuckled again.

"For now, all you need to know is that a choice lies ahead of you."

"What kind of choice?"

Death leered at me, or the closest it could to a leer.

"The kind that could give me work."

I cringed.

It eyed me carefully for a moment, then continued.

"Soon, a trial will befall you. One that will test the strength of your heart. Should you pass, a bright life will await you. But should you fail, a life of eternal pain and shadow shall be your reward."

I stared at Death, more than a little unnerved by its prophecy.

"How soon?" I asked.

"Very..." it purred. "Now, WAKE UP!!!"

***

"Why did you do that?" Twilight demanded, stomping a hoof.

"I-I'm sorry," Fluttershy whimpered, half of her face hidden behind her mane.

Twilight groaned and shifted her attention towards the comatose stallion lying on Fluttershy's sofa.

From what she could gather, Fluttershy heard about what happened to Rainbow Dash from some of her animal friends. Afraid of what could happen to her, she had some birds and mice keep an eye on him. In addition to spying on him, they were to tell her if Noon was anywhere near her cottage. As a result, when the two of them stepped into the perimeter of Fluttershy's security grid, some of the small animals alerted her. This led her to set up a small army of what animals were present at the time and prepare for an ambush. When she heard that Twilight was with him, she thought that he had taken her hostage and swooped to her "rescue" when his back was turned before she grabbed a frying pan and prepared herself for battle.

Twilight rubbed the space between her eyes.

"It's fine, just make sure you apologize to him after he comes to, okay?"

Fluttershy nodded, then looked towards the unconscious Karkadann.

"How was he? I mean....before I hit him."

Twilight sighed.

"Tired, but in much better shape then when I found him."

"How so?" she asked. "If you don't mind me asking..."

With a frown, Twilight told her about the night Noon Scribe appeared in front of her castle, and how close he was to death. She went on to tell her about his out burst when he came too and the period of self-induced isolation that fallowed until Twilight was able to convince him to open up to her. As she talked, Fluttershy's eyes widened with a mix of fear and regret as the full weight of her actions became clear. It wasn't until Twilight started talking about the incident at Noon's party that Noon started to show signs of life.

With a loud groan, he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"Ow... Okay, if one more pony tries to kill me I swear I'm gonna knock them through a wall..." he groaned, rubbing the sides of his throbbing head.

Grimacing, he turned towards the two mares.

"Noon!" Twilight cheered, galloping to my side. "Oh thank Celestia, how do you feel."

"Sore," he grumbled as he staggered to his hooves. "How long was I out?"

"Two and a half hours," she frowned. "Are you sure you should be moving?"

"I've survived worse," he shrugged.

He turned towards Fluttershy. The Pegasus cringed in fear, already prepared to receive a verbal barrage from the moody stallion. Instead, he just sighed before turning back to Twilight.

"I guess that makes three," he said. "C'mon Twilight, I knew something like this would happen."

As he said that, he walked over to the front door. Panicking, Fluttershy flew forward and blocked the door. Noon groaned, then gently moved her out of the way with his magic. He was just about to open the door when Fluttershy said "WAIT!"

He stopped, then turned to face her, eyes narrowed.

"What? Want to take a swing at me with something else?"

The slight venom in his tone made both Twilight and Fluttershy flinch.

"N-No," Fluttershy shivered. " I-I wanted to s-say I'm sorry. M-My animal friends said they saw you fight Rainbow Dash and ...."

Noon's features softened as understanding replaced his anger. With a defeated sigh, he took a step towards the trembling mare. Fluttershy hid behind her mane, too ashamed to look him in the eye.

"Apology accepted," he smiled.

"R-Really?" Fluttershy squeaked.

He nodded and she immediately relaxed.

"T-Thank you," she smiled. "L-Let's start over. Hi, I'm Fluttershy."

"Noon Scribe," he bowed. "Nice to meet ya."

Fluttershy blushed at the formality in his greeting and giggled. Twilight smiled as she watched her two friends getting along, even if the meeting did start on a rather rocky note. Eventually, the three of them settled down in Fluttershy's kitchen, sipping tea and making small talk. Noon didn't really pay that much attention to the conversation. Instead, his focus drifted to his surroundings. It was strange to him to be able to get such an intimate look at Fluttershy's house. As it turned out, the show only showed about a tenth of the mare's abode as he could see several times more animal dens and bird houses just in the kitchen alone then he remembered seeing on his TV.

I wonder just how many kinds of animals she has, he thought, taking a sip of his tea.

Just then, he felt a slight prick on his left hind-leg. He turned and saw one of the strangest creatures he'd ever saw in his life. It was about a foot and a half at the shoulder and had the vage shape of a cat, but as his eyes traveled down from its feline face towards its tail, the features shifted into that of a dog or fox. Its fur was pitch black and covered with white flecks that looked a lot like stars. Its eyes were a striking shade of sapphire blue that seemed to look through him, almost like it was judging him. For a moment, the two just stared at each other until the cat/fox let out a soft mew and hopped onto Noon's back. Noon was going to tell the strange mutant to get off, but was interrupted by a pair of girly squeals. He snapped his head towards the mares. Both of them had sparkles in their eyes and smiles that would've made Pinkie Pie jealous.

"Oh my gosh, Fluttershy! You never told me you were taking care of a Gulon!" Twilight gushed, summoning a paper and quill.

"I-I wanted to," she blushed. "But until now he wouldn't let anypony near him. I was afraid he would try to attack you. I'm sorry."

Noon looked at the two of them, a brow raised curiously.

"What the heck is a Gulon?"

"A Gulon," Twilight smiled. "Is a rare creature that resembles a cross between a common house cat and a wild fox that is said to live in remote forests and mountains. Aside from its appearance and habitat, not much is known about them aside from its incredible concealment abilities and appetite for magic."

Noon's eyes shot wide.

"This thing eats magic?" he cried, pointing at the creature now curled up and using his back as a pillow.

Twilight nodded.

"But you don't need to worry," she assured. "Gulon's feed on the magic surrounding it and very rarely eat Pony magic."

Noon let out a relieved sigh.

"Good. After everything I've been through, the last thing I need was some magic vampire chasing me around."

"That's not all," Fluttershy added with a smile. "Gulon's are very anti-social creatures that will only befriend Ponies that meet certain standards."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Depends on the Gulon," she shrugged. "But when they find somepony that matches them, they lock eyes with them as a sign of acceptance."

Noon looked at the creature sleeping on his back.

"So that means he picked me?" he asked, still staring at the Gulon.

"Exactly," Twilight nodded. "Guess I'll have to let Spike know that a new animal friend's going to be moving into the castle."

Noon nodded, a slight smirk pulling at the corners of his muzzle.

Looks like I have another new bond in this world.