The Gift of Kindness

'The Gift of Kindness'

Chapter 1: Arriving to Equestria

‘The Dark stone.’

‘A smoothed chunk of glowing obsidian. A Gemstone, which contains an essence of powerful, unimaginable, unspeakable evil. The power which sealed within the shadow ore, brings fear into the very gods themselves, fearing that their hidden sides would be discovered.'

'The stone's power can only be activated to those with a darkened soul themselves. But only those with purity of a light heart can truly control it:

One who fully understands and represents the concept, of Ying and Yang.'

'Otherwise, the dark desires of the foolish user take over.'

'Of all the mortals that could've survived, only one had used it and lived. For he released a more "lighted heart" version of himself to defeat his dark twin, then returned himself to normal, with the Dark stone standing by: meaning he could truly control it... but this being was not human; but a hedgehog...'

'This mortal bares by the name of-'

"Gaah! Hey! Watch it! Yah almost shot me!" Jonik yelled behind him, nearly missing a needled syringe filled with a knockout serum!

~Location- EverGreen woods (giant forest of evergreens): 12:52:42 PM ~

Once again, he was given chase to five suited men, welding the tools that launched the flying drug. The barers of the suits' faces were covered by a lime colored dome; hiding their identities from the annoyed Cryo hedgehog.

They only had one objective: Retrieve "Project Frost-Wolf", Get pay check.

Jonik had proven it was easier said than done.

'Darn 'em! Gotta lose them, Now.' This went through Jonik's mind. He was actually getting tired. That rarely happened for him. Were they getting faster?

That didn't matter at the moment; he kinda needed to stay awake at the moment. He dogged yet another flying syringe. Honestly, this was getting more of a bother then a threat.

As he ran through the double doors he yelled back: "Don't you people, ever give ah- wait. Door???"

He screeched to a sudden halt. Fully turning around, he saw two doors swinging back and forth; due to the hedgehog passing through.

He was inside a building... What's a building doing here? Of all places...

Gah. That didn't matter. "I'm being chased anyway," Jonik said to himself. "I'll lose 'em here." He turned away from the doors and ran through the corridor, the suited humanoids giving chase once more......

***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***

~Location- Outside the 'Everfree Forest' (In another world): 12:54:21 PM~

A lone flower, -dandelion from the looks of it- stands idle near the dirt road that leads to the entrance to the forsaken forest. Occasionally gently swaying within the breeze. Rather suddenly, the flower was pulled from its roots within the ground, and was gently placed in a beautifully woven basket. The basket, in which was also on the ground; was then picked up by the jaw of some creature, then the said basket was hooked onto the side of a saddle bag.

The owner of the basket and saddle bags was actually a small, winged horse. Well, Pony, if one were to be pacific. The butterscotch Pegasus then turned and happily trotted to an area on the field which was better covered with flowers. Her long, pink mane flowed slightly in the ever so gentle breeze. As she entered the field, she stopped, looked down, and brought her small snout to a red flower. It was a rose. It smelled wonderful to her.

Her reason for bringing herself out today was because of the upcoming spring celebration. A friend of hers -whom is apparently a dressmaker- wanted to make a dress for her. She wanted to make her dress similar to another dress that she wore at some... "Gala". Although, the said dressmaker required flowers for this dress: real ones. Ones that were mostly found in the spring.

'This rose smells wonderful' the young mare thought to herself. 'I'm pretty sure this one, also represents spring... In some way.' Just like with the first flower, she plucked it with her mouth, and placed it in her basket.

~Location- Unknown building (in EverGreen woods): 12:55:22~

"He's down this corridor!" One of the steel men pointed. "Fire!!!" The steel men ran through the corridor, firing needled syringes at the targeted hedgehog.

"Okay then," Jonik told himself, nearly missing five sharp "bullets". "They might be gettin' a little faster." Suddenly and swiftly, another needled syringe flew right past Jonik. "GAH! Will you quit that?!!! I'm runnin' here!!!" He yelled back in an irritated voice.

He turned left down the corridor hoping to lose 'em; noticing a poster of some sorts tacked to the wall on his right. He then leaned to the right as soon as he saw it, and forcefully tore it off the wall to take a better look at its details.

The thing looked like it was soppose'tah be on a stone tablet, hanging on a museum.

The first thing you'd notice would be two Alicorns on top of a cloud on the middle top, separated by different colored skies. On the white Alicorns side, the skies were bright baby blue with some clouds on it. Farther downward; there was the decal of a village with equines frolicking around it. There were big trees, -representing a forest- behind the village.

Reaching the unnoticed end of the corridor, Jonik then ran through another pair of doors, stopping right in the middle of a white walled room. He continued looking at the poster without change of interest... or notice for that matter.

On the Dark blue Alicorns side, the skies were midnight blue, with little white circles decorated all over. There was a mountain on this side as well. There appeared to be a castle attached to the side of the mountain. Farther down were train tracks and its train, heading toward the village on the white Alicorns side of the poster.

On the very left side of the poster, was a red arrow, possibly pointing the way to something.

"Hm. Weird poster." The frost-hog said; tossing the said poster behind him. "Now, what was I doin' aga-?"

"ST- *huff* Stop!! *hah* ...Please?"

Jonik looked behind him and saw his silver chasers, looking quite tired. They appeared -from Jonik's point of view- As if they ran a marathon in the desert for 3 days.

Jonik then remembered. "Oh yeah." He said flatly. 'Ah well, might as well play with 'em.'The chilly hedgehog thought, as he turned around to face his opponents.

"My apologies for running from you, like the little girl I was." Jonik said in a cocky voice, pacing around them. "But I wanted to make sure you weren't trained to be a sissy like the previous team of..."

Jonik thought for a moment before continuing his pacing. "Well, rag dolls. If it's possible for me to say." Jonik ended his pacing in front of his enemies, readying himself to fight. "So... Let’s see if you flop on the floor, just like-"

*vvvrrrrRRRRRRRRRR*

All who were in the room heard the loud sound of an old generator powering up, echoed within the room.

The hedgehog spoke in a quiet voice, but anyone could've heard what he said: "...What the ha..." He stopped himself. He remembered that he wanted to use less profanity, to become a better person... Well, that's what he believed anyway. Shaking his head, he resumed speaking as the white walls glowed eerily. "...What was that?"

~Location- Near the 'Everfree Forest' (In another world): 12:58:40 PM~

The pink mane Pegasus continued her way when she suddenly bumped into something big, furry, brown... Almost like a... Like a... Bear...

Uh-oh...

The fluffy beast, slowly arisen from its slumber, towering over the wide eyed pony. It yawned rather loudly, sounding more like a roar: Scaring small birds out of the trees near the forest. This startled the young Mare, almost unhooking the basket on her saddle bag as she jumped.

The head of the big, fuzzy beast turned slowly to who bumped him.

'Oh... my...' Was the only thought in her mind.

~Location- Unknown building (in EverGreen woods): 12:59:01~

Jonik and the steel beings looked around the brightly lit room. The very doors behind the metal heads seemed to have vanished to nothing. Two of men panicked, whilst the others were calm... Although the leader of the green domed suits...

"This is another one of your tricks, Ice-Wolf!" He said pointing his weapon at the back of the said hedgehog. Jonik spoke calmly, not turning around: "If this was a trick of mine... I would've at least known how to do it." He faced the green screened thug, and continued.

"Thus; I'm not doing this. It's the walls. They're-" He was interrupted by a rather loud click, coming from the medal leader's weapon.

"Don't fool me Wolfie. I've been tricked once by your calmness..." His weapon pointed to Jonik's forehead. "...I ain't falling for it this time."

The sound of a monitor powering up, was heard by the sharp ears of the frost 'hog. Looking down, Jonik could see the very floor he stood on, fading to a completely different design. The design toke the appearance of a picture... of a mountain... a small village... two Alicorns on a... a... cloud...

The floor toke the appearance of the poster Jonik had just looked at minutes ago, with him and the others standing under the cloud of the two Alicorns.

Jonik and the two panicking titanium beings seemed to be the only ones to notice.

The medal leader pulled the trigger! "WOOP!" Jonik yelled; falling right through the floor... As if it was nothing.

"WHAT-?!" Was all the medal commander could say... Before he and his men, fell through the floor as well......

The lights around the room returned to its normal, dimmed setting. Revealing the room; —With the exception of an old poster with a red arrow— Empty, once more......

***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***

~Location- Near the 'Everfree Forest' (In another world): 12:59:21 PM~

Calmly looking at the bear and without making eye contact, she spoke to the bear in a friendly voice:

"Oh, I’m sorry for waking you up. I was just looking for flowers and-" She was interrupted by a soft pat on the head, in which came from the bear.

Oh, phew! They're friends.

The bear shifted himself around, now facing the pony better. He made a face to the Pegasus, which almost seemed to say: "Good morning. You look lovely today."

The mare then remembered something: "Oh! I think I actually have something for you." She said, reaching for her basket. The bear slightly lifted himself, placed his paws on his chest and made another face, all together typically said: "For me?" The butterscotch Mare toke out the dandelion, which she held in her mouth and offered it to the bear. Almost as if he read her mind; the big, fuzzy guy toke the flower out of the pony's mouth. "I've seen you looking at these flowers the other day." She started. "I thought it would look nice on your right ear."

The bear then placed the yellow flower onto his very right ear. For some reason, it suited him. The brown, gentle bear; patted the head of the Pegasus once more. This was his way of thanking her. "You're very welcome." She responded, trotting away from her 'beary' good friend to find more flowers.

The young Pegasus wasn't too far away from the bear when she seemed to be bothered by something... Although, she was rather unsure what it was. She shifted her head left and right, looking for her answer. Her search stopped when she noticed something, a little ways away from her.

It looked like... a small, wood land creature, lying on its tummy. She couldn't quite make out which species it was from where she was at. Despite of all this, only one thought bounced in her head.

It wasn't moving. At all.

Quickly assuming it was injured, she suddenly ran to the lifeless seeming animal... The bear noticing the pony's hurry. She had to get to it! She ran as hard as her legs could take her! She couldn't bare to leave it there, without at least bringing it to her cottage and seeing if it was alright.

She began to slow down gradually, as the critter came into better view.... She came to a full stop near it. Well, she could obviously see that the creature wasn't small at all.

She never saw anything like it before in fact. It's bright, cyan fur-like quills, slightly moved within the gentle wind. It seemed to have the hands of a very, small, baby Kong... except for his lower hands, which looked... Wider. They looked more like they were made for walking, not grabbing fruit from trees. How could it grab onto anything with hands like that? Poor thing.

And... Is it wearing a black cape??

Somewhere in the Mare's mind argued, that this... This could be a hedgehog. That can't be right.

First of all, A Hedgehog is much smaller than this. It looked like it was as tall as her, standing up.

Secondly, the common quill color of a hedgehog near her cottage would be a some-what light brown. The quills on this... Being appeared and felt more soft then quills normally are.

Finally and most importantly, hedgehogs don't wear capes. They don't quite have the right neck for such clothing.

Why is it even wearing...? Oh, that doesn't matter now. The most important objective right now was to bring the hedgehog back to the cottage. And fast.

The pale yellow Pegasus turned her head behind her and called: "Bernar-!"

"Well, wadda we have here?" A deep and frightening voice interrupted the mare's calling. "First time I've seen you lying down..."

The pony turned her head back forward, face to face with a greened domed window.

"EEP!" The mare yelped, slowly backing away out of fear. Staying as close as possible to the hedgehog, she gotten a better view of this new being, standing before her.

It was covered in flexible metal, like clothing. A lime green dome-like window covered its face. It was examining the caped 'hog, before looking at the winged equine.

The metallic being spoke in a deep, male voice: "Huh, I wasn't expecting something like you." He stood up, looking down on the frightened mare, trembling in fear.

He sounded friendly... It might mean no harm, in fact he might...

He toke out a tube like object, which he griped tightly on its handle, then pointed the object to the head of Shy equine. "Apologies," The being spoke in a deep voice. "But I think you'd be a perfect soldier for our... little project."

Oh. Um, is it too late to take back that last statement?

The metal being fired his weapon! Out of paralyzed fear, the Pegasus swiftly hid behind her pink mane. She waited for what would come to her, she was too afraid to see-

Wait. She... Didn't feel any different. Did... did anything happen?

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me." The voice seemed to come from the metal being. The Butterscotch mare slowly unhid herself from behind her mane.

She was shocked to see what looked like a needle syringe, holding itself in mid-air. If it were any closer, it would've gotten her in the nose.

The winged pony shifted her head to see the syringe was not floating in midair by itself. It was caught by the foot of the assumed hedgehog. It had its eyes slightly opened.

He saved her from... What-ever his foot was holding!

The cyan being turned his head to the Mare, and spoke in a deep but weak voice: "Yah... you're..."

"... Welcome." He closed his eyes once more.

The mare stared at the metal being, whom was finished reloading his weapon.

It spoke: "Okay, lemmie try again."

As the steel enemy pointed his weapon at the mare once more. But raising behind her, a bigger, fuzzier beast, roared loudly at the metallic threat before his friend.

Now the evil being became afraid: "Buh-buh-buh- BEAR!!!!" Panicing, it ran away, into the nearby forest. The bear sat beside the mare, as he huffed to the running coward.

The mare was relived. "Oh, thank you very much Bernard." She thankfuly said the bear. She then turned to hedgehog, who was knocked out once more. His foot was back to the ground, although his foot still had a good grip on the syringe he caught.

Well, guess it’s "lower hands" can still grip onto things, eh?

Either way, the cyan creature, —Which the Pegasus decided to assume was indeed a hedgehog— needed help. The Pegasus turned to Bernard. "Could you —Well, if it isn't too much to ask— Help me bring this hedgehog to my cottage? I think it needs help."

Bernard nodded, although confused as his friend called it a hedgehog. As he was about to pick up the hedgehog, the Pegasus stopped him. "W-Wait!" The bear stopped as he saw her take a clean cloth out of her saddle bag with her jaw, and went for the syringe, which the hedgehog's foot held tightly.

Surprisingly, the hedgehog's foot immediately released its grip, as soon as the mare's jaw griped the syringe with her handkerchief. The Pegasus nodded holding onto the syringe, letting the bear know he could pick up the hedgehog.

As the female Pegasus walked away, several questions floated in her head:

Who was this hedgehog?

Where did it come from?

Why was it lying on the field near the Everfree forest?

And who was the other creature covered in steel?

She was more concerned about the hedgehog's wellbeing then the answers to those questions. Normally, she would assume she wouldn’t get such answers from an animal.

Although, this one was different. Much different. Unlike other animals, it spoke her language. Her language. This was no ordinary hedgehog, not at all.

What else could this creature do that she didn't know about? 'It might understand other animal’s languages. Maybe he could help me connect with my animals better.'

The Pegasus thought to herself. 'Although...'

She thought about the metal man again as she looked at the syringe, held horizontally in her mouth. 'That tall creature wasn't friendly. What am I holding onto anyway?' Judging by the liquid within the syringe, it didn't look healthy at all. Was it trying to hurt the hedgehog? If so why?...

What was the liquid anyway?

This thought then appeared, floating in her head, as she neared her cottage. Well, she had to agree with herself. She had no idea what the liquid was. Maybe if she somehow... studied it-

Wait. Study.

There might be pony that could help her. One who might've studied how to find out the ingredients to certain liquids. She knocked on her cottage door, and waited for an answer.

'Oh, I hope Twilight isn't busy.' She thought to herself as the door was opened by a rabbit in an apron...

***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***Runin'OnBarefeet***

END OF CHAPTER: One.