On the open, African plains we see a cheetah with cream colored fur and three black stripes across his back. He’s crouching low, his fur color helping him blend in with the tall, dry brown grass that covers the savanna plains. He’s been tracking a particular gazelle that’s been limping for the past few hours. This is a sign of weakness. He has no idea how it’s lasted this long, but it looks like easy prey to him..
He slinks forward, keeping his belly low to the ground. The hot, dry wind was still, giving him the advantage. He gets into position, the muscles of his hind quarters tightening like massive springs, ready to spring with the force of a catapult should he need to run.
Today though, luck was not with him.. A slight, upwind breeze puffed past and along with it his scent, right to where his prey was grazing. The gazelle tensed as it’s nostrils flared, the scent of a predator on the breeze. It glanced left, then right, trying to locate the forthcoming danger. The cheetah made ready, about to start a sprint.
One, eyes on the prize. Two, adjust to get a better start. Three! And he's off! He begins at a rapid pace, building up speed attempting to reach the food he so desperately needs. He’s skinnier than most cheetahs. The gazelle quickly learns of the cheetah’s approach and begins to flee. The cheetah is gaining quickly, his empty belly driving him to move faster, he can almost taste the sweet taste of meat as he closes in.
Again, fate seemed to have it out for him, for in his haste to claim the food he needs to eat, he doesn’t see the small pile of rocks and stumbles. The gazelle takes this chance to get away and runs as fast as it can with its limp.. The cheetah gets his feet under him and gives chase, only to chase his prey back into the midst of its herd.
His chest heaves, breath coming in short, quick gasps. He watched the herd bounce away, as his last meal get’s away. His stomach groans in protest of losing its meal. The cheetah slowly walks away, heading in the direction of his den.
That's the third one lost in the past 2 days. He stops to rest. In his mind his instincts remind him ‘How much more can you take?’ That’s when he sees it. A very strange sight. Out of nowhere, a weird mismatched being appears.
“Why hello there stranger! I have been watching you for, oh, so long and I couldn’t help but see that you’ve been down on your luck. Perhaps I could change that!” Said the strange creature, closing his hand before reopening it to reveal a single black hat with red stripes around the exterior, “What if I said I could flip your world upside down but with, upsides.” He chuckled at his own joke. The large creature produced a single cane and ripped a hole in reality with it, he waved his claw at the portal, “Will you join me?”
He tenses up hearing this strange thing talking to him. “This thing claims it can help me. But I feel like prey in this. Should I?” he thinks. “But I won't last long without a change. Might as well give this a shot.” After what seems like half an hour, he nods his head..
“I was hoping you’d say yes. Now then, when you arrive you will be different than before. So don't be surprised when you feel a few some new addons to your body. Sokudo.” He opens a big orange portal. The cheetah decides to walk through. When he gets inside, he becomes surrounded in blue flame. Walking forward, he feels pain as the fire enters him and begins to change him..
As he exits the portal, he sees that he is in a forest. His ears ring with new sounds he hasn’t ever heard before and he can’t help but pick up so many strange scents. Before the young cheetah can look around, he hears a loud “HELP!!! SOME PONY!” Confused, he dashes to find the source. He dashes past strange plants dodging roots and vines. He also caught sight of some strange animals, but decides against chasing them.
What he finds confuses him greatly. He see’s a zebra like animal being attacked by a very strange dog made out of wood?
Without thinking, he feels like helping the zebra. Conflicting thoughts of ‘maybe i should eat her myself’ ran through his head. Pondering it, the strange dog moved. It was then that he decided to act.. As the strange dog moves up to the strange zebra he stalks behind her. Just before he would be in range to he grabs her by the mouth and races off.
Fluttershy was just going around picking herbs for a medicine for her animal friends when she got attacked by a timberwolf. Just when it seemed like she was going to be badly hurt she feels somepony lift her off the ground with their teeth? “Wh-who are you?” she muttered as she felt the wind rush past her. Shortly after the stranger ran with her out of the forest. When she saw her savior, she gasped! It was an animal she had never seen before! “Is this the one discord told me about?” she thinks as the animal runs.
When he exits the strange forest he see a weird hut in the distance. With great care he drops his cargo and is shocked.He just went top speed for at least 5 minutes and he wasn’t even tired! When he goes to open his mouth he is shocked when he hears not a chirp but a voice! “Why am i not tired?” he asks. His eyes darted around in paranoia. It was clear he was still on edge from that scene he ran.
Hearing her savior talk Fluttershy quietly squealed. “Oh my gosh! What type of animal can run so fast? Who- no what kind of animal are you!?”
“My kind are called cheetah’s. As for a name.” he thinks till he remembers that word he heard before.
“My name is Sokudo. Now what are you?” he says confused look across his face.
“I've never seen a zebra without stripes before.” he says in puzzlement.
She is so excited logic takes its time to kick in.
“I’ve never heard of a cheetah before, do your kind talk often? Wait. Zebra? I'm not a zebra, I'm a pegasus pony, my friend Zecora is a zebra. My name is fluttershy, it’s nice to meet you Sokudo.” She smiles warmly at him, barely hiding her excitement at talking with not only an animal but a whole new species.
“Well I have no idea if my kind talks often. Wish my mom was here to see this.” he says with a frown.
Fluttershy is confused about the lack of intense feeling. “Is everything okay?” she asked with a concerned look on her face. He seemed to be sad.
“Sorry it's just that, I was thinking of my dead mom. I've been alone for so long.” He says with a look of pain in his eyes. “You see my mom was killed trying to feed my brother and sister.”
Fluttershy’s heart broke for this creature. With tears she moved forward, trying to wrap her hooves around him, comfort him and try to make his pain go away, if only for a short while “Oh you poor thing!” She sniffled and kept trying to hug him but only to have him shift out of her reach with each attempt.
He kept tapping his paw on the ground, trying to get the thought of his dead mom out of his mind.
“Uh i'm good.” he says not wanting her to touch him, an uncomfortable look on his face.
“I just got here so I don't know where I can stay. I guess I'll head back to the forest.” he says and starts to walk off.
“WAIT!” She yells, surprised with her boldness.
“You can stay in my cottage. It’s not much, but it’s warm and dry.” She said, drawing small circles on the ground with her hoof in a slightly nervous manner.
“What? Why would you let an unknown beast live with you in your den?” He asks.
“I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t help an animal in need of it. Besides, I have room since I look after other animals, there’s plenty of space.” She offered, giving him a welcoming smile and gesturing with her hoof towards a strange looking hill not far in the distance.
“Alright I’ll stay but i’m on guard with you. This is all so strange.”
That night our cheetah experienced his first nightmare. He sees his mom trying to steal food from a lion pride when she gets mauled, she’s not dead but he knows that she’ll die from the wounds. Then he sees fluttershy looking at him in horror when she learns he eats meat.
His mother’s death combined with his new friends fear of him didn’t help his shaken sate. The horrors, the fears, they began to make him sweat. He wanted it to end... Why wouldn’t it end?
Then, like a star from the heavens, a powerful voice boomed straight through the visions with authority as it shouted; “ENOUGH!”
At the command, the visions that tormented Sokudo vanished almost instantly, leaving nothing but the fields of his home before him. He paid it no mind though as he stared at wonder from where the voice came from.
Descending toward him, Princess Luna offered a warm smile whilst Sokudo was perplexed at the being before him.
As she landed gently on the grassland and greeted Sokudo warmly, “Greetings, creature.”
Author's Note
special thanks to quirky gallade and the spirit wolf for their help on this. annd special thanks to shadowgohstlex for his work on edting and proofreadin this newly edited chatper. and a supre thanks to darkstone for his help.
Sokudo wakes up smiling, feeling peace for the first time in a while.
Fluttershy comes in, surprised to see him smiling.
“Um, Sokudo, what would you like to eat?” She politely asks.
“Um, I don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to show you.” He says letting her see his teeth.
“Oh, you’re a carnivore. I have some fish you can have for now if you want.” Fluttershy says nervously. “Later, I would like it if you meet my friends. But it's totally up to you.”
“Fish?” Sokudo asked curiously, “Never had that before. I’ll be blunt; I’m a hunter. I’ve eaten many animals to keep alive. Not having to chase one down for once sounds like a nice change of pace.” Sokudo says with a smile as Fluttershy gave him a fish to try.
“Hmmm... Not bad.” He commented as he gulped down the snack. “Still would like the meat I'm used to but this it’s a decent change of pace. And what's this about your friends? Are you sure that's a good idea? I don't think a meat eater would be well received among you ponies.”
“I'm sure they’ll accept you in time. Please?” Fluttershy says, about to cry as she tries to get him to meet her friends.
Partly understanding, Sokudo felt awkward. “Okay I'll go! Just please stop with the face!”
“Yay!” she quietly exclaims.
When Sokudo finished his food they both head out to town. Other than a few glances, most ponies simply passed Sokudo by without a second thought.
‘This is a surprise. Here I am, a new species, and most just pass me by? Maybe I'll fit in better than I thought.’ Sokudo thought as he stuck to Fluttershy’s side.
Rainbow Dash was just lounging on a cloud when she saw it… a strange animal doing what she would later describe as stalking her friend Fluttershy.
Concerning for her friend, Rainbow launched herself from her relaxing spot and brought herself overhead of her friend as she called out; “Hey, Fluttershy! What kind of animal is that behind you?”
“Oh?” Fluttershy looked behind her, her light pink mane waved in the air as she did so, “This is Sokudo. He’s a very friendly Cheetah.”
“So, a new kind of animal, huh?” Rainbow eyed the Cheetah sceptically. “I haven't seen one before. Friendly, huh, does he talk then?”
Having heard the new pony speak he prepared.
“I can speak. You don’t look like much but then again I know better than to underestimate those I see. As Fluttershy said; my name is Sokudo, and I’m a cheetah. You look fast. I wonder how I would do against you. My kind is known for their speed after all.”
“Now Sokudo, be nice. Rainbow hasn’t seen a creature like you before so it’s normal for her to be a bit curious.”
“Oh, I figured she was just, I was just messing with her some, but if you do ever want to race let me know.”
Feeling the need she responds. “You’re on! Name a time and I’ll show you a place.”
“Not now though. I’m going to meet with the rest of your friends. Maybe when I have had time to settle?”
“Are you sure about this, Sokudo? I mean, Rainbow Dash is the fastest pony in Equestria and you should really get your strength back, if you don’t mind that is.”
“Oh, I was just low on energy earlier. Now that I have had a chance to eat I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get yourself hurt.”
“I'm sure. As I said my kind are built for speed. I won’t hurt myself.”
“Okay… If you’re sure… Oh! Rainbow, did you say you were meeting the rest of the girls today? Can we come along, if that’s okay? I wanted to introduce Sokudo to the girls.”
“Yes, I’m meeting them later. And as long as Sokudo is well behaved then he can go. He seems cool, but I can’t let my friends get hurt.”
“I have no reason to hurt your friends. So I won’t. No promises on behaviour though.”
Fluttershy sent a low-level stare to Sokudo.
“You’ll behave yourself Sokudo, won’t you?”
He felt scared. Fluttershy’s stare made him feel as if he was the smaller animal.
“I’ll try but I don’t know how to behave. This may sound crazy but I wasn’t always able to talk.”
“I understand that, I’ll try to help you learn what is and isn’t appropriate.” She reaches a hoof up and rubs the spot between his ears.
He starts to purr at the touch.
“Oh, that feels so good!” He exclaimed.
“Hehe, you’re just a big kitty aren’t you?” She giggles as he leans into her hoof.
“Well from what I can remember I am called a cat.” he says in between purring.
“Knowing that will help with the checkups.”
“But for some reason, I do know I have higher everything than a normal cat. Faster heart rate, breathing, and hotter normal body temp.”
“Oh my gosh! That’s so interesting.” Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she stared at him and sparkled brightly with excitement.
“Will I need to be checked up?”
“Yes you will,” Fluttershy said, sounding a bit like a mom to her child. “I mean, if you don’t mind that is. It’ll help if you ever hurt yourself. We would know how your body works and be able to help you get better.”
On one hand he is thinking of how it might feel. On the other hand he knows it will help especially since he has more fragile bones than a normal cat. His body tenses up as he makes his choice.
“I do mind.” he says then, as his instincts tell him, he runs off.
“Come back here Sokudo! You need to go to the doctors to get your check up!” Fluttershy runs after him and much to his surprise she’s keeping up.
“Oh no you don’t! I won’t go!” He pours more speed into the run till it turns into a sprint.
“You. Will. Go. To. The. Doctor!” Fluttershy yells and charges at full gallop after Sokudo trailing a dust cloud. Rainbow watches with a confused and amused look on her face as Fluttershy chases Sokudo around the town square.
Catching sight that she’s still tailing him, he puts on a burst of speed he didn’t even know was possible. Panting, he breathes quickly before the hairs on the back of his neck rise. His instincts were screaming at him to run and they’d never let him down before.
He went from standing to a full sprint and was lucky he did. He heard a thump as Fluttershy had landed right where he had been before.
“Come back here, Sokudo! You’re going to the doctor because it’s good for you!” She yelled as she gave chase once again.
“No *huff* way!” His muscles soon became tired. He rounded a corner and ran head first into another creature. They skidded to a stop not far away and he tried to extract himself from the tangle of hooves and paws.
“WHO DARETH TACKLE THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT?!” An extremely loud voice bellowed making Sokudo cringe from the volume.
“I am so sorry but I was running away from this crazy mare, she wants to take me to the doctor. It’s my fault.”
“GET BACK HERE… Princess Luna!?” Fluttershy bolted around the corner and found the lunar princess in a pile with the cheetah she’d been pursuing.
“Sokudo! What are you doing?”
“I guess I lose this race. I’ll go to the doctor after all. I stumbled into this pony when I, not on purpose, ran into her.”
“Um, could you please get off of me now? I’d rather not stay on the ground.” Luna asked, not wanting to tell the truth about the situation.
“He’s so cuddly” She thought to herself as he pushed away and they both stood up.
“Again I’m so sorry, Princess? I don’t know what that means. I guess I have a lot to learn.”
“As a Princess I watch over my little ponies and keep them safe from anything that threatens them.” Luna explained as she dusted herself off. A pair of ponies, carrying things Sokudo had seen those two legged predators carry, ran up to them. He was on high alert and crouched with a low growl.
“Is this an ambush?! Are you here to kill me just for being a meat eater?!” He said in a low voice, the hair on his back raised and he presented his teeth at the guards making sure they knew he’d give it as good as he got. Fluttershy did her best to ease the situation.
“It’s okay, Sokudo. These are just Princess Luna’s guard ponies. Their job is to keep the princess safe. They aren’t going to hurt you if you don’t start anything.” She gave a glare at the guards, making them sweat slightly and take a step back.
“Fluttershy speaks the truth. They only act to protect me, so I apologize for their aggressive actions. When I told them I was going to meet with a creature new to Equestria they prepared for the worst.”
Still on alert but seeing their point he backs off. “I’m sorry for snapping like that. But I must know. Why does a ruler want to see me?”
Luna offers a comforting smile.
“One of my duties is to protect and guard the dreams of my little ponies, to drive away nightmares and evil dreams. Last night I came across a powerful nightmare and banished it, only to find out that it didn’t belong to one of my subjects, but to a creature I had never seen before, even in my 400 plus years of life.”
“So you saw it then? I have flashback nightmares of the day that cost my mom her life. Is there anything about it you would like to know?”
“No creature. I have seen enough from your nightmare and I wish to offer my condolences, I can’t imagine what it must be like to lose a parent.” Fluttershy wraps a wing around Sokudo’s back, giving him an odd sensation of comfort he’d not experienced before.
“Thank you. My short life had been filled with heartache. Maybe here I can find some peace.” He said, not sure if it would be so but he was hopeful.
Luna smiled warmly at him.
“The let me be one of the first to welcome you to Equestria and it’s probably the best place to look for a fresh start.” She said, a slight look of melancholy crossing her face.
“I should know.” Luna whispered.
“Well I guess I should head to the hospital to get a check up, or I might have Fluttershy chase me again.” He gave a small glance at the yellow mare. She gave him a nod and a hard look that told him there was no getting out of this.
“Then I bid you good day.” Luna said and started to turn away when she slapped a hoof to her forehead.
“Forgive me; I almost left without learning your name.”
“It’s Sokudo, the cheetah. It was nice meeting you Luna.” He said smiling happily. Luna was glad that he was a new creature and had no knowledge of protocol for speaking to royalty. It made her feel like a normal mare for once and she was glad for it.
“Indeed it was, Sokudo. I hope we can talk again.” She smiled and, with her guards at her side, trotted away.
“Well let's get this over with.” Sokudo said with a resigned sigh.
‘And maybe find out how I was able to run for so long’. He thought. Fluttershy gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder and smiled.
“It won’t be that bad Sokudo. The ponies there are some of the nicest ponies I’ve ever met. They’re gentle so you have nothing to worry about.” She smiled warmly and slightly pulled him along with her as she started to walk.
“I can walk so please stop pulling.” He said as he slipped out of her reach and kept pace with her.
“Oh, sorry.” She said with a sheepish smile.
“Just follow me and we’ll be there in no time.” she said leading the way.
Sokudo falls in behind her and they walk for a while.
“Now don’t run off again please. It would really help me if you stayed near me.”
“I won’t. I don’t have enough energy to try anyway.” He said. Fluttershy just nodded and smiled. She hummed to herself as she led the way to the hospital with Sokudo following behind her.
‘How bad could it really be?’ He thought as they neared a large white thing with ponies going in and out of it.
“So this is the hospital?” He asked, feeling slightly intimidated by its size.
“Yes it is. It’s where all ponies come to get healed when they get hurt. Rainbow Dash has come here many times.”
“Okay. What are they going to do to me?” Sokudo asked not knowing anything about medicine. Fluttershy tapped her hoof to her chin in thought.
“They’ll give you a scan to see how your body works, and then they’ll look over the scans to see if you have any injuries that need healing and they’ll probably give you some shots to make sure you don’t get sick anytime soon.”
“Well I know I don't have any major injuries. But it is worth it for them to have my data.”
“What makes you so sure you don't have any injuries?”
“Well another thing about my kind is that our bones are hollow. So it takes less force for one to break. If I got hurt badly enough I would have a limp. Plus, I'm not built like a tank. If I look fine then I'm most likely fine.”
“Um, what is a tank?” Fluttershy asked, tilting her head.
“Never mind... Let’s just say that while I'm not fragile, I shouldn't be in front of a fight.”
Fluttershy leaned into Sokudo, examining him further as his mane accidentally brushed against his nose. “You look so much like a cat.”
“Well my kind is a sub species of cat. We are built for speed. Not anything else. I should at least get a checkup. Need to be put into the system. I have a feeling it will come in handy.”
“Oh I won’t stop you, it would be very helpful for other ponies to know who you are it would be so nice to see you being friends will all the ponies in Ponyville!”
“Let’s take it one thing at a time. First the check up and fact finding, then friends.” he says as he spots the yellow sun rising on the horizon tinting the sky the same color.
“Oh okay. I’ll get you a check up first.” she says as they walk up to a very big purple building covered in holes.
“Why does this thing have so many holes?” Sokudo asked, confused.
Fluttershy pondered over what he was asking before she understood the question, “Oh! You mean why this building has so many holes. Well those holes are called windows and you can see through them.” Fluttershy explains as they walk into the building. “And this is a building not a thing.”
Sokudo nods then takes a look around the new area seeing a brown wooden room with a bunch of things he has never seen before. “So this is a hospital? What is all this fancy stuff?”
As Sokudo marvels at all the shinny things Fluttershy is getting him into the doctor. When Sokudo turns around to ask Fluttershy something he see a pony with a weird thing around his head and a weird jacket that is different than the few he had seen the humans wear.
“Are you the doctor?” Sokudo asked, walking up to the pony.
“Yes, my name is Doctor Fix. So, you’re the new animal Fluttershy has brought in. If you’ll follow me, please?”
Sokudo falls in behind him as they head to a big white room with a strange machine. “Now then, I need to strap you into this so that I can scan your body and learn how it works.”
Not liking it but knowing he needed to do this, Sokudo nodded. Fluttershy walked in shortly after finding out that he had found a doctor. Sokudo let the doctor strap him into the harness and the doctor started the machine. About 5 minutes later the doctor unhooks him from the machine and the three of them take a look at his insides.
“Now this is interesting! Are those air sacs on your lungs? And your heart is enormous and healthy. Those muscles though, modified heart like muscle. You’re a marvel!” he says in awe.
Sokudo nods. “I'm made for speed. I don’t know my limits though. Are there more tests I need to do?”
“Well, there is one. We need to test your body during exercise to see how your body works under stress.” doctor fix mentions.
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well I need to know what's normal for you. So that way if you're hurt after a run for example I can get to the root of the problem.”
Once again baring with it, Sokudo nods and the doctor sticks a strange sticky thing to his chest and hands him a mask. “Now when the test starts breathe into this as you run. This will tell us how your body uses oxygen. So this treadmill is set to 40 speed. Let's start.”
Sokudo grabs the mask puts it on and starts running on the treadmill. As he does, the doctor nods at the data. “Okay now I'm boosting the speed to 60.”
Sokudo speeds up and the doctor checks the new data. “Interesting... His body is using a large amount of oxygen like a sprinter yet his body is using it as effectively as a marathon runner. Plus his heart is steady at a high number of beats per minute.” he thinks to himself. “I’m stopping the treadmill.” He stops it and Sokudo takes the mask off and pants. The doctor takes off the nodes on his heart and smiles.
“Very good, I have all the data I need for now. Well, I do need an average body temp reading. Keep this under your tongue but not yet. When you are done recovering.”
He nods. “Or I could just tell you. My normal body temp is 101 degrees.” he says in between gasps as he recovers.
The doc nods. “If you’re sure that’s your normal, I will put it in. Any other things that our scans might have missed?”
“Well, did your scan see inside my bones?”
“No.”
“Well, mine are hollow to make it easier for me to run fast.”
“That's good to note. Now what do you eat? I noticed you slowed down near the end. You look like you need some food.”
“I eat meat. Got any of that?” he says, hoping he didn't just scare the pony.
The doctor has a look of understanding.
“Well, just in case somepony like you comes along we do have some. We sometimes have griffons come by. I’ll get you some.”
About an hour later he came back with a few steaks.
“Here you go. I have no idea how you like your meat so I bought it as a medium.”
Sokudo sniffs the strange meat. Not smelling anything wrong he takes a cautious bite.
“Pretty good! For a bunch of herbivores you do meat good.” he smiles and digs in finishing his food very quickly. He started talking when the doctor frowned.
“Ya its part of my kinds curse. To run as fast as we do we can't carry much reserve energy, we have enough for several days but after that runs dry our bodies’ burn protein for fuel.”
The doctor nods.
“That makes sense but you seem awfully thin regardless. You need to eat more.”
Sokudo shakes his head.
“No I'm fine. I'm full now.”
The doctor relents.
“I want you to eat two snacks a day till you feel you're at a healthy weight.”
“Why? Why do you care so much?” Sokudo asks not getting why this doctor is going so hard to try and keep him healthy.
“Because not only is it my job, but I like you. To be honest I would hate for a possible friend to be hurting.”
“A friend? We just met and you already think I’m a friend?” Sokudo says in shock tilting his head with confusion.
“You seem like a nice, uh, what species are you?”
“I'm called a cheetah. And my name is Sokudo. Nice to meet you.”
“Ya that. You’re a nice cheetah and I think we would be great friends. What do you say?” the doctor holds out a hoof for the cheetah to shake.
“Uh, what's that?” he asked, pointing at said raised hoof,
“I'm sorry but I don't know what to do.” he whispers into Fluttershy’s ear.
“Shake it with a paw.” she whispers back.
Sokudo takes a paw and shakes the hoof. “Sure, let’s be friends.” he says with a smile.
As the duo exits the building a white pony runs up to Fluttershy. “Oh good I caught you. Oh who is this?” said pony asked.
“My name is Sokudo. May i presume you are one of Fluttershy’s friends?”
“Why yes, darling, how nice to meet you! I can’t believe Fluttershy would meet such a nice creature like you! Oh and look at your lustrous coat! Oh it’s like the softest silk!” she said in a swoon like way… she rubbed his fur… "have you seen twilight? my cutie mark has started to act strange." Rartiy said as her mark glowed so did fluttershies.
As she rubbed his fur he purred. “Say I never got your name. What is it?” Sokudo asked with a smile.
“It’s Rarity darling, and it’s such a pleasure!” she coos.
To be finished in chapter three.
Author's Note
thanks to the same as before plus the dark prince and shadowghostlex. and sepcial thanks to darkstone for edting.
