Four months.
It had been four long arduous months. In the beginning I had nothing; my clothes had deteriorated to scraps, my pack and my tech suffering a similar fate as I was awoken by a soft drop of rain on my face. Through that I wandered naked through a forest I was unfamiliar with in a climate that was not my own. Time had gone by it seemed as what was once a solid path walked by thousands before me had become overgrown with plant life that at one time had been completely foreign to me.
Not so much anymore.
I crouched low in the brush surrounding me listening to the trees bow to the wind, to the birds chirping above me, and to the grass down the slope from where I hid. A cluster of five rabbits came from their burrow and sniffed the air cautiously before venturing any further. One wrong move and I'd lose my dinner for the evening. The bow in my hands was made from the bodies of timber wolves that had caused me trouble in the past. In this world you used what you had to survive and after an introductory period I had found myself very keen on that belief.
The branches swayed and the rabbits came ever closer, their ears pulled back as they nibbled the berries I had left on the ground to lure them in. It would be a good meal tonight if I managed to hit my mark. The bow made not a single sound as I drew the string back with a muffled sigh. The world had been rough on me but in doing so it made me stronger. What was once soft arms of a painter had become the sculpted stone of a hunter with the precision my art had given me.
A quick whistle, a loud crack, and the trap fell from a branch capturing the rabbits as they cried out in shock. I let out a quiet cheer as I ascended from the brush, making my way down the path to the iron cage which held the hares for harvest. I smiled and pulled my poncho aside to reach into a small fabric pouch nestled close to my dagger and notebook where I wrote down a journal of my new life. Who knew? Maybe when I got back to my own world or time I could make a killing off of a book.
"Somnumi." I whispered as I sprinkled the frantic hares with a green powder from within the pouch.
Slowly the hares closed their eyes and silenced their cries of fear. The powder had worked exactly as Adwa said it would. With a soft chuckle I removed the cage and grabbed the hares one by one as to put them into the satchel strung at my side. The powder would work for a few hours and that would give me plenty of time to sell my catch and keep a hare or two for myself.
"They are better when fresh."
The ascent up the mountainside was quite and easy. The trees towered over me like skyscrapers and spread only tiny flecks of sunlight here and there. Summer lasted a lot longer where I was than in other parts of the world but it was welcome. Sunlight and fog covered the upper parts of the mountain but provided a form of cover from the outside world. As the only human in the area this was a welcome relief to me until I was ready to move on and find a way to get home.
The great wooden walls of the village began to greet me in the distance and what once was a frightening and foreign sight had quickly become my home and sanctuary. The walls protected the village from some of the more ferocious creatures of the forest and stood longer than many could remember. Indeed it was a welcome sight.
"Tristan!" Came the exuberant childish cry of one of the villages little watchers.
I smiled through my scarf and rested on a knee as a white blur rushed into my open arms with a gleeful squeal. The tiny filly buzzed her wings happily as she nuzzled into my chest with a fanged grin. Her sapphire blue eyes warmed my heart and with a grunt I picked her up and nestled her into one arm as one would carry a barrel. The filly giggled into fits and squirmed, trying to get out of my iron grasp as I walked to the village gates.
"You shouldn't come to greet me little one. Who knows if it is truly me? I could be," I paused and flashed my teeth at her while lowering my voice, "a changeling!"
She screamed playfully and hit my side with her tiny hooves.
"Papa help! A changeling is at the gate!" She yelled out as she covered her snout to muffle her laughing.
Sure enough a deep blue stallion walked on top of the wall and rolled his eyes. He was the leader of the village, a mayor if you will. His coat was speckled with tiny spots of white and his mane, once black as midnight, was now streaked with the telltale strands of snow white. Two eyes like amethysts peered at me and his voice boomed from the tops of the gate.
"Release my daughter foul beast! Do it now before I release a volley of bolts at you!"
The filly in my arms wrestled herself free and stood before me with her cheeks puffed out. Her mane was the color of her fathers coat and covered her left eye as she drug her front hoof along the ground. A challenge was issued and I was not about to let her win. Reaching into my satchel I took one of the hares I ha caught and presented it to her with a wicked grin.
"Don't you like rabbits little Firelight?" I playfully teased as she stopped in her tracks with wide eyes.
Another flash and the rabbit was gone from my hand. Firelight looked at me with a wide grin as the rabbit hung from her maw limply, the sight of which normally would make me fearful but after the time I spent among the thestrals it was a welcome sight to me. She turned with her tail wagging as she stood proud in front of her father who merely laughed and issued the command for the gate to open.
The gate pulled apart with a loud rumbling as the young filly and I walked into the open square of the village. Trader day had come once again and many races were present selling their wares within their tents. Some were gryphons, some pony, and even a small handful of diamond dogs had come to the mountain village in exchange for goods and services. The square was alive with the bustling of many hooves and claw which brought a smile to my tired face. Firelight bumped my leg with a giggle and carried the hare in her fanged maw as we made our way through the townsfolk.
It was a peaceful time for sure. A time where many could gather and give gifts one another before the sunlight festival the next month. I happily walked in stride to a small fur lined tent where a large brooding gryphon raised a cleaver and separated the onions and assorted vegetables before him. His wide wings spanned the length of a normal man and the held the warmest shades of gold and brown. His golden eyes surveyed myself and the filly at my side before issuing a low rumbling growl.
"Well well well if it isn't the villages odity," He began as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "What brings brings you to my tent on this day. I hope you're bringing me something more than a handful of mushrooms and leaks."
I reached into the satchel at my side and brought forth four of the hares I had captured. They had coats of purest white and the look on the gryphons face told me I had made a wise choice. He lowered the cleaver and took the hares in one of his mighty claws before murmuring a word of approval. He disappeared into his tent momentarily and came back with a pouch clinking softly with the sound of coin.
"Four white snow hares from you today?" He questioned as I nodded my head.
"I'll happily give you twenty bits for the lot." He grumbled as he tossed the pouch in his claw.
I smiled viciously and placed a hand on the table where he was cutting his vegetables. His eyes narrowed as he looked quizzically to me. In the past Pykar Straightfeather had been the very bane of my existence whenever he came to town to trade. He paid more than the butchers in the village for my catch but always undersold me what I knew I was due. This day I was done. I was stronger, wiser, and frankly angrier than I had been previous visits.
"Forty." I merely whispered.
Then the challenge started. I learned very quickly the ways of gryphons and even the Ka'at. He slammed a talon on the table and drew a long deep incision using only the tip never once leaving my gaze as he did. He was establishing his dominance and his strengths over my own. Being the only human in Equestria had taught me many things in four months. Things such as my lack of strength compared to other races, my lack of magic, and of course the sharp bits gryphons could use to slice me into ribbons.
"Ten." Came his challenging growl.
I rolled my eyes and reached behind my back to draw my simple iron dagger out and slamming it tip first into the wood of his cutting board. I felt the humid breeze of the mountain air brush my hair across my eyes while I stared him down. When I had come to this place I had short well kept hair. My face was devoid of any hair and I had planned to keep it that way in the hopes of achieving a higher salaried job at my old life. Now though my face was sculpted if not a little sunken from my new diet and constant need to move.
"Forty. Don't screw me Pykar." I grunted as I angled the knife closer to his outstretched wrist.
Finally after a small eternity of staring Firelight decided it was high time to but in between us.
"Don't be a jerk to Tristan bird brain!" She yelled as she slammed her hoof on the table. Again her cheeks were puffed up to show her frustration in our little quarrel.
The gryphon held in a chortle that erupted from his chipped beak in a full tear jerking guffaw.
"I see young Firelight thinks highly of her oddity." He began as he dropped in a handful of coin to the pouch. "So I see that as a guest to her village I'll have to pay up."
He tossed me the coin with a nod and returned to his tent with a chuckle. My attention went back to the small filly as I smiled gently at her. Naturally Firelight's word was law in the town as more of a parody than fact. She was the queen and we all were her servants in one way or another.
"Alright your majesty," I teased as I picked up the hare she dropped and handed it back to her. "I need to go home and prepare food. I have a very special guest coming over tonight."
Firelight tried to speak with the hare in her mouth which was adorable but equally frustrating. So as any good servant would do I removed it from her mouth so she could speak.
"Is it your marefriend?"
I immediately placed the hare back into her maw and walked away without a word. The filly stomped her hooves as I proceded to place my dagger back into its sheathe behind my back. I knew nothing of swordplay back in my old life. I knew not how to hunt, how to survive, how to even cook or make my own clothing. I found it impossible to believe that I had learned so much in only four months time. Shaking my head with a smile I proceeded to walk down the streets as I looked to the thestral ponies that called this mountain village home. They had accepted me with open ar- hooves and had taught me the means to survive. I was not a pet or a monster to them, and in learning of their history I had come to find that perhaps I was not the first human. I knew for sure I wasn't the only omnivore biped at least.
"Tristan." came a voice so soft yet so sharp it made a jolt travel up my spine.
I turned my head to see a very familiar and very dangerous face. On my walks to my home I often had to pass the local red light building, or brothel if that was simpler to say. The building was built into the side of a very popular bath house and had harbored some of the most pristine members of royalty in its past. Now however it was a place for travelers and soldiers to get their carnal kicks from some of the most voracious mares in Equestria.
The mare that was sauntering up to me was the most dangerous of the mares. She was taller than many thestrals but stood only to my nipples if one was to measure. Her short cyan mane hung loosely to the side in a swooped Mohawk fashion and her rose pink eyes looked at me with a kind of teasing hunger that could leave a stallion weak in the knees. her shapely form caught my eye as well, the swaying of her hips accentuated with the flow of her gorgeous tail that matched her mane.
"Velicity." I said back as I bowed my head and turned my head to the side to bare my neck.
It was an old custom. A way to show that you knew of their strength and position in a city or government. Though to Velicity it was a tease, an offer for something she wanted but could not have. She had bedded many stallions and mares within the area yet her only prey she had not caught was me. It was not to say I was not taken by her voice or her eyes but many things had caught my attention and many things needed my attention more than bedding a very alluring prostitute.
She pressed the side of her muzzle to my exposed neck and breathed my scent deeply, shuddering as she drew back and closed her eyes.
"You smell very opulent today my dear. Why must you tease me with your robust scent? Tell me you do not wish for me to feed off of you." She whispered into my ear as her hoof reached out and rested on my leg above the knee.
I took her hoof and kissed the very tip with a chuckle.
"You know I cannot do that. My master would have my head."
Velicity scrunched her muzzle and let out an unladylike snarl. Her eyes practically glowed with intense jealousy which drove me to continue seeing her. It made me laugh.
"That boorish whore does not deserve you! She is as much a stallion as any cock wielding wonder here." She snarled as she licked her lips, noticing I still bared my neck to her over my scarf.
"Until she gives the word I guess you'll only be smelling and imagining my taste." I teased as I pulled the scarf back up and turned from her.
I walked away to hear her stamping her hooves like a spoiled child. The interactions with her brought me great amounts of joy after a few weeks of being incredibly flustered by her advances. With a smile that shifted into a grimace I approached the large oaken two story abode I called home. The sound of clanking pots and shifting figures notified me that my two roommates were home which could be a good thing or a very bad thing.
I sighed and opened the door, making sure to duck as I entered. No sooner had I come in that I saw a large cauldron fly past me into the living room to the right of the entryway.
"Tristan I did not see you come through! I apologize for my hurried movements for I am busy making a brand new brew." Came the thickly accented rhyming voice of my zebra roommate, Adwa.
She was a very thin zebra for her kind. Her soft stripes formed a black to gray gradient across her barrel and back where most zebras had a solid color scheme. Her telltale brown hood hung loosely over her head and ears while she continued to move small bottles, boxes, and supplies into the other room. Her mane was pure white and hung over one eye as she cast a glance to me with a giddy smile.
"I see you used my sleeping powder. Seeing it work could not make me prouder."
I chuckled and drew out a small pouch and tossed her a few small bundles of budding twigs.
"Timberwolf whiskers for your potion. Have you seen Diana?"
The zebra was back to her cauldron whispering words of voodoo and lord knows what else. I sighed internally and began taking off my poncho and satchels used to carry the ingredients I gathered daily. With the final article of my surveying clothing removed I turned away from the door to see the bright white mane I had come to love and hate.
"Diana! God damn you need to stop sneaking up on me." I yelled as the soft blue eyes of my thestral roommate peered into mine unblinking.
Diana was the villages runt. Before I had come to this world she was weak, never spoke, and was thought to die at a moments notice. She was born with a pure white coat and a mane to match which was an omen of disaster to her and her family. The only off color on the bat winged mare were here icy blue eyes. She was the one that took me in, gave me a home, and became my closest friend. The cost however...
"Arm." Came her soft yet monotone voice.
I pulled the strings tying my sleeve tight apart and rolled up the fabric to expose my wrist to her. Dozens of tiny red scars marred my arm and for good reason. She brought her muzzle in close and sniffed at my flesh as her forked tongue curled out of her maw and glazed my skin with a thin coat of her saliva. The feeling had long since stopped being creepy and fell into borderline pleasurable but the saliva merely numbed my arm to her fangs.
As if on cue she put a hoof on my arm to steady it and bit gently but forcefully into the smooth skin above my palm. I cringed only momentarily from the shock and sighed gently as I felt her lips suckle at my wrist. She drew out my blood and suckled slowly, gently, as if she savored each and every drop of what I gave her. Her mane cascaded over my arm and brushed my skin with a silken texture that many of the mares in town had become jealous of. Satisfied with her meal she let go of my wrist and kissed my hand down my forearm, finally resting her forehead against my shoulder.
"I thank you for the gift of life." She whispered before taking a step back from me.
Diana needed my blood to live. She was bedridden and weak upon my arrival. She was a full grown mare and yet had barely survived on the meat and blood given to her from the hunters of the village. Her family abandoned her by the old rules but since she bore the name Nightwatcher she was entitled to the home we stayed in and a steady supply of aid from the ponies. My giving of blood to her was an honest accident but after three months she had become as healthy and strong as the other mares in the village.
The difference was that out of all the thestrals she was the only one that was allowed to taste my blood.
This had caused a lot of trouble when others saw my healing properties. For a while I was an object of want by the higher standing members of the village but by the old laws I was bound to Diana and Diana alone. For a while it was just me and her in an awkward time of not knowing anything about one another and even as time passed where we got close it was still a struggle just being the two of us. Luckily when Adwa had moved in with us in the hopes of studying the local fauna, mainly the Ashen Lilacs, she was offered a room to stay in by Diana. Adwa was comfortable with me eating meat and Diana needing my blood to survive which made our friendship all the more strong.
"I would think it would give me such a fright but I find it alluring to watch her bite." Adwa added as she approached us from her cauldron.
Adwa had studied Diana extensively to see if she could cure her dependency on my blood, not that I minded, but she had failed at every turn. Diana turned her head away and nodded curtly.
"I have given you permission to watch Adwa, you do not have to announce your interest." She stated plainly as she began walking up the stairs to her bedroom.
"Tristan."
I looked up to see her cold eyes fall on me as a lock of her hair fell across her muzzle.
"Yes Diana?"
She paused as if deep in thought before shaking her head.
"It has been cold the last few nights in my room. I would like you to lie with me tonight if at all possible."
I merely nodded and turned my attention back to Adwa and her research. Truth be told in my world Diana's words would have been taken at a much, much more sultry idea but it was far from it. I had often times provided a lap for her to rest on or assisted her with her mane. She had become stronger but still struggled with the day to day duties that many took for granted.
I owed her my life and I gladly was her hunter, protector, and guardian.
"Adwa, I'm making rabbit tonight. Would you like me to make you a vegetable gumbo?" I asked as I pulled the sleeve over my wrist after dabbing the fresh marks with a rag.
The zebra salivated at the mouth and planted her fierce emerald eyes on me.
"Please do my friendly cook. Do this for me and I shall teach more incantations from my voodoo book."
Adwa had taught me the zebra ways of "magic" ever since she had moved in. The science behind it perplexed me but offered me an edge that I didn't have before. The ability to conjure flame from powder or mix tinctures was so amazing that I drank every bit of knowledge she gave me like a sponge. The soul fact that I could use zebra voodoo was enough to make me jump at her words. She looked at me with a grin and slowly looked up the stairs before looking back at me.
"I wonder if it would spoil the mood, to say that you have a strange form of servitude. You care for Diana without a single huff or sigh and I suddenly wonder if I could know why."
With a groan I walked to the kitchen and pulled the bag of rabbits out of the bag. Adwa had followed me and sat on a cushion located near the breakfast bar I built as she watched me intently. With a twist of my hand I snapped the necks of the hares one by one and lined them up to be skinned, drained, and gutted.
"Diana deserves happiness. She laid in a bed for years with no one to talk to, nopony to read to her or care for her."
I took the knife from my holster and began to drain the rabbits of their blood to sell for profit in town.
"I knew what that was like. I was in her place once upon a time."
Adwa pondered my words carefully and slid my pine cutting board across the counter as I took a cleaver from the rack above me.
"Do you not wish to go back to your land? You do not seem to treat the thought as you would close at hand."
I brought the cleaver down and took the heads to set them aside. The bone could be ground down and sold to gryphons.
"My home is here Adwa. I have long since given up going back to my old home."
I turned from her and she took the hint that I was finished talking on the subject. Autonomously I took the rabbit and prepared to make a fine stew for Diana and myself. Thankfully living meat free for the first month had given me insight on some fine ideas on vegetarian meals and within an hour I had a meal fit for all of us. As usual Adwa took her meal in her room as she wrote down notes on the new flora I had brought her. With a sigh I smiled and opened the door to Diana's room and prepared her meal to serve to her.
Later in the evening
With a full belly I had opted to pull out my journal and write down the days events. My back was pressed against the wall and my legs were pressed together on Diana's bed as she laid her head on my thighs. Occasionally I would let my hand brush through her mane or rest on the back of her neck.
"Tristan."
I looked over my journal at the white thestral mare.
"Thank you for the meal. It was a treat to my senses." She whispered with little to no inflection.
I smiled widely and let out a soft chuckle.
"You always say that for every meal I cook for you."
The silence that followed was normal yet still deafening. Diana took time to form her words as perfectly as possible so anything she did say was complete truth from her lips.
"That is because every meal you make is a treat to my senses."
I closed my book and set it aside, resuming my ministrations of brushing my hand through her mane. The candlelight created a soft glow across her freshly cleaned mane and captivated my attention. Things in this world were more vibrant than my own world. Colors popped out more, light was brighter, shadows harsher. It was hard to believe still that I was here allowing a creature that did not exist in my world rest her head on my thighs like a close friend or a-
"I am ready to sleep. Have you decided if you will be staying by my side tonight?"
I answered Diana by picking her up gently and laying her on her side. She turned her head over her shoulder and watched as I removed my tunic. She watched every time I disrobed because she found it perplexing that I wore clothing at all times. She had never seen me completely out of clothes not that she hadn't asked.
"As if I have a choice." I teased her as I slid under the covers and pulled her back to my chest. Her bat like wings fluttered as I ran my hand down the soft leathery texture.
The feeling of her wings was unlike anything I had felt before. The ponies, thestrals, and even gryphons were so soft compared to the feathers and horses where I was from. It was strange how such a tough species or a species that flew all the time could be so smooth and soft to the touch.
"You do. I have always given you the choice. You could leave if you wanted." She said with a very tiny inflection that I barely caught.
I held her close, breathing in the soft scent of fresh rain and grass as I let my arm wrap around her barrel. With a flick of my wrist I wordlessly doused the flame of the bedside candle and let out a yawn before pulling myself closer to the mare next to me.
"I'm not going anywhere. We have the festival to work on tomorrow so get some rest Diana."
I felt her wrap her hoof over my arm as I felt myself drift off.
"Thank you." Was her final whisper before we drifted off to sleep.
Author's Note
I've been stewing on this idea for some time and wanted to bring in a few races from other stories I've written on other platforms. Looks like I won't have to now that the My Little Pony Movie is gonna bring in cat like bipeds.
I know all of you are gonna scream "god damn furries!" But I am one so bite me.
Was playing around with the idea of a pony needing a human to live and since thestrals are as close to vampires as I'm gonna get it's a great venue to work with.
