"Daaaadddyyyy!!"
I ran to my father like I did every day after school. I galloped through the yard and jumped into his hooves, rubbing my cheek against his. He lifted me up and spun me through the air. It was such a relief to see his smiling face, his warm hugs, after an absolutely intolerable day at school. I wish I could I could go back to those days, when I was stupid, when I was innocent. When my mind was always occupied by some little trivial worry of my life, like a monster under the bed. And my father would coo me to sleep and say, "It'll all be okay." I loved him, I was his little silly filly, and I thought nothing could ever change that.
But I also once thought there were monsters under my bed. The unfortunate truth is, things change. They always do.
Several years later, it was another day just like that day. I was much older though, and much more mature, so the only thing that changed as I walked home from school was my exclamation of “Daddy!” And of course, I was much too heavy for Dad to pick up.
For the rest of the day I told him about school, did homework, and was a general nuisance around the house. My father worked from home, and I was his constant distraction. I complained about everything, from being hungry, to how difficult our homework was. He chuckled at my little discomforts in life, as he angrily paid the bills ("Weather bills. Hmph. They can shove it up their royal--" "DADDY!") and struggled to make a living.
Of all things though, I complained about the other ponies at school. They always teased me about how sidetracked I got in class. I could never keep my focus. I stared out the window, wishing I could jump right out it and go somewhere away from it all.
I usually imagined myself deep within the Everfree Forest. Dad always made it out to be this dark, evil place, but I when I asked him if he’d ever been in it, and seen what’s so bad about it himself, he would avert his eyes and say I wouldn’t understand. I thought that maybe if someone actually went inside it once in a while, they might find out it’s not so bad. I made this vocal to lots of ponies I met. But just like Dad, they shook their heads at my childishness.
So deep within a daydream, I found myself wandering the forest under a starry sky. I would travel aimlessly through the brush, and absorb in every ounce of my surroundings. Birds of all colors, plants of all shapes and sizes. My mind continued to expand the nonexistent terrain around me, stretching and allowing more room for me travel in. It was almost like I was really there, like I could feel the humid air around me, like I could actually touch the water that was reflecting my own face back up at me. I reached out to feel the cool surface of the creek, but felt something much different…
"Stella."
My mind raced back from that far away place, and I realized that my outstretched hoof was currently booping my teacher’s nose.
"You can stop that now Stella.” I let my arm go limp in embarrassment, and a few chuckles sounded off around the classroom. “What have I told you about not paying attention in class?"
I rolled my eyes, and quickly replied: "Uh, I don’t know, to not to?”
Another round of giggles. I smiled smugly at my witty redemption, but was subdued immediate by the teacher's threatening glare.
"I've had enough of your sass for one day, Ms. Stella, thank you very much. Now, as I was saying, the Hearth's Warming Eve's play is this afternoon..."
A loud groan resonated through the classroom. I for one, perked up. I was excited for the play. Dad said he was going to come and watch me perform, and I never passed up a chance to impress him.
The teacher ignored the groans of the rest of the class, and continued on as I listened eagerly. "We all need to be prepared, so we'll all be staying after school for a dress rehearsal. We'll be starting the play just before sundown in the outdoor amphitheater."
As she droned on and on, I feigned disinterest similar to that of my classmates. I didn’t want to seem to amped about it or they might make fun of me.
"…Oh, I almost forgot. I have a surprise for you all!" The bored demeanor of the class didn’t budge. "Now, you'll all be pleased to know, if not a little bit nervous, that Princess Celestia herself will be in attendance of the play!"
My jaw. It dropped. The rest of the class seemed unable to register what they had just heard.
A small hoof in front of me was raised quickly, as if to say, “I object!”
“Yes, what is your question?”
“Uh, WHY?”
The teacher answered him dismissively. “Well, it wouldn't be very Princess-like to go to the same Canterlot play every year. She obviously wants to support the arts in you little ponies! Who knows, maybe tonight one of you will get a Cutie Mark in acting!”
Wouldn’t that be something, I thought to myself. I laughed internally at how she tried over and over to arouse the class’s interest. Even after the mentioning of Celestia's attendance, a few students maintained their indifference.
"Otherwise, you should all be excited to finally have the opportunity to perform in such a prestigious event, and I wish you the best of luck! Now, recess time!"
We all sat stock still, when usually we would be headed lightning speed for the swing sets. Only one or two ponies trotted away outside.
The teacher seemed a little flustered. "Didn't you hear me? Recess time! Now! OUT!"
The scuffle of chairs made me snap back out of my awe-inspired trance. I realized just how far down my jaw had extended, and brought it back up before quickly scooting on out of the classroom to join the others outside.
As I walked past the line for the slide, I tuned into my own train of thought. Princess Celestia? At our performance? This would be the best day ever! Not only was I going to impress Dad, and all the other parents, but Princess Celestia too!
And if I knew one thing, it was that I could not let them down.
***
The time had come. It was opening night! I peeked from behind the curtains out into the audience. People were chatting with one another, parents readying their cameras. The kids who didn’t get parts in the play moved around and handed out programs. I giggled at the silly uniforms they had to wear. As my eyes continued to scour the crowd of people, flitting from pony pony. I gasped.
There she was! Princess Celestia!
She must have seen me staring, as she gave me a warm smile from her seat atop a cloud.
I quickly pulled back, easily flipping out. Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh the ruler of Equestria just acknowledged my existence, ohmygoshohmy-
“A-hem!”
Our teacher cleared her throat for the millionth time, apparently preparing a little pep talk for us. She inhaled deeply as if she was about to let flow with emotions, and tell us how wonderful she thought we were and how proud she was of us and that she’d be throwing a party in our honor-
“Break a hoof.” She trotted off and let the music teacher take over of the play.
I sighed. My expectations may have been a little bit too high.
“Places everypony, places! The sun goes down in five minutes, and that’s when we’re lifting the curtain!”
I was so nervous. What if I forgot my lines? What if I screwed up in front of everypony?
“3 minutes everypony!”
I checked to make sure I looked alright. What if I had forgotten, and was wearing the bow my dad had given me backwards? I didn’t want to embarrass him…
“1 minute!”
My brain went crazy. Oh, I don’t know if I can take it if I screw up in front of Everyone! Dad went out and bought that bow just for me and said it would give me good luck and everything… He even came backstage and gave me a hug and told me to think about him whenever I wore it, like the way he thought about me when he first saw it, and...
“30 SECONDS EVERYPONY!”
Oh no! I straightened up my mane and my costume, going over my lines in my head. Once upon a time, there lived three races of ponies, the pegasuses and the earthi ponies, and what are the ones with the pointy bits on their heads…umm…oh yes, unicorns! Oh my goodness, why can’t I get my thoughts together? After all, I just finished rehearsal perfectly, and-
“A-hem.”
I came out my little reverie, and gulped down the huge lump in my throat. I looked out at the audience with a sheepish grin, as I realized the curtain had long since been lifted. My teacher glared at me with a face that clearly said, “You better not screw this up kid.”
I swallowed down my nervousness. As the sun went down with a casual wave of the Princess’ horn, I noticed the largeness of the moon. Was the moon always that big? Or that bright? I shook my concentration off of it, and tried to focus on talking. I tried. But something kept me from speaking. It wasn’t stage fright. It couldn’t be. I forced yet another hard lump down my throat. Why couldn’t I get my words out? What was going on? Why did I feel so hot and itchy?
And then it came, without warning. Pain shot through my body. I fell down on the stage, writhing with frequent spasms. I keeled over as if about to vomit, but nothing came. Just more and more pain. I felt my whole body contorting, stretching...changing. The audience sat unmoving in their seats, horrified of the display before them.
They thought they had it bad. I felt like I was being torn apart, and then being carelessly put back together. Then I started to register what was happening.
My ears expanded to twice their usual size, and throbbed with the usually insignificant little sounds that filled them now. My hooves painfully rearranged themselves into paws, and sharp claws sprang out of the tips of my newfound digits. My muzzle extended, my hair grew into a furry mess, and the new bow father bought ripped in half from the strain.
I was…I was becoming a wolf.
Princess Celestia saw me, my grotesque, powerful shape.
She frowned, barked some commands at her guards. She took another look at me and vanished in a flash of magic.
As my transformation completed, I really started to tune into what was going on. I laid on the stage, panting madly. Ponies were fleeing, the Princess’s guards were advancing, young fillies were screaming at my hideousness…
I could smell their fear.
I could hear the beating of their puny, fragile hearts.
I could feel the rush of adrenaline, the excitement of the hunt. My newly honed instincts took hold of me. I had no control of myself. I wasn’t myself anymore; I wasn’t Stella.
I was hungry.
I licked my lips as I watched my former classmates, now my prey, running away backstage. I listened intently to the commands my instincts gave.
Kill.
I lowered myself onto the ground, preparing to pounce, wanting more than anything to tear the jugular right out of one of those little necks…
But then another figure toppled me offstage into the bushes. My opponent had me pinned, and my struggling was in vain. I flailed my new appendages uselessly, bashing my paws and flashing my teeth at the fool who had attacked me. I eventually broke free of my pursuer’s grip. I snarled as I regained my balance, and saw opposite of me another wolf, colored a deep indigo to match my own lighter shades of blue and white fur. I growled with a feral passion. What was this intruder doing, on my just recently claimed hunting grounds? I was about to show this moron who they were dealing with. In my head my instincts planned it all out. Wait, sidestep, tackle, then go for the neck-
BONK.
In a flash, my foe had come up on my left and knocked me unconscious with a single blow. I fell down on my side, panting heavily from the adrenaline of the fight. I flitted in and out of consciousness, vaguely realizing I was being dragged away somewhere. It went for maybe minutes, maybe hours, I couldn’t tell. My face in the dirt, I heard the screams and the chaos that I had caused as I listened to the remnants of the town’s panic. All I can actually remember from before completely blacking out was the shadow of my opponent, running off deep into the Everfree.
Deep into the dark.
Chapter 2: Some Welcoming Party
Blurry thoughts clouded my mind, flying this way and that way in my head. Every time I tried to catch hold of one, it flew farther from my grasp, and I would reach out even further, but in the end I was alone and cold, a prisoner of my own subconscious. I tried to focus on my happy place, tried to go to that Zen-like state. I tried to grab at it furiously, wanting some sort of help, some sort of release…
Boop.
I suddenly found myself wide-awake, staring straight into the eyes of a dirty, scraggly looking young colt, just about my age. His bright green eyes burned into mine, and his brown coat and spiky yellow mane were full of tangles. I pulled back my hoof, as his disgruntled face told me nose touching was not the way to start off a friendship in his book.
I looked around hazily, trying to figure out where I was as the pony eyed me suspiciously. I sprang from the ground, looking around manically. I absorbed my surroundings, my eyes flitting all around the small forest clearing I found myself in. The sunshine filtered through the trees in a marvelous way, high in the sky. Judging from the sun’s position in the sky it was around mid-afternoon. All the while the strange pony looked rather taken aback at me. He inhaled deeply, as if to call out an alarm.
“Moon Catcher, you better come check this out!”
I slammed my hoof over his mouth.
“Shhhh!!” I motioned for him to zip it. What was he thinking, yelling like that in the middle of the Everfree Forest? He could get us both killed!
He obviously didn’t think so. He pushed me off of him and shouted, “Get off me you freak!”
I changed my attitude immediately. “Okay, okay, please be quiet, I can’t let anyone find…”
“Lux?” A delicate voice resonated from within the brush. “What’s the matter?”
A beautiful maroon and black mare stepped from out of the bushes, a basket full of some sort of berries balanced perfectly on her back.
“Oh my.” She frowned a little. “Lux, who’s your…your friend?” She asked nervously. “She’s not…an outsider is she?”
“I don’t think so. She looks like one though.” He gave me a few sniffs. “Something about her scent. We should report her to the elders immediately.”
“No, Lux!” The supposed “Moon Catcher” said. “They might kill her! You know how they can be about anything they find even remotely threatening!”
The whole time while the two ponies argued, I stood back in confusion, thinking to myself. What happened last night? Who were these mysterious ponies? And what did they mean by “outsider?”
The two had calmed down a bit. Their bantering reached a standstill. The older pony asked a question aimed at no one in particular.
“Well if we don’t know her, and she’s not an outsider, then where could she have come from?”
“That’s for the elders to decide.” A deep voice rumbled from somewhere behind me. Next think I knew, I was unconscious once again.
***
“Hey. Shortstuff. Wake up.”
I opened my eyes reluctantly. I found myself bound at the hooves, being dragged by the mysterious deep voice I had earlier. Surprisingly, its embodiment was small in stature, but obviously strong enough to carry me. He had a tan colored coat, splattered by brown spots that matched his mane. His brown eyes had a sort of ferocious, fiery passion about them.
It looked like our journey had taken most of the day. The sun hung low in the sky, painting the horizon vivid colors of pink and As we trailed along, I noticed I was being taken through a village of sorts. Ponies of all shapes and sizes went about their business, but many stopped and stared at me. Little fillies and colts ogled me as I went by, and so did the older ponies. It was safe to assume I was an “outsider” at this point.
As my captor began to slow down, I heard the rush of running water nearby. I looked up from wear I laid, the back of some strange pony, to see I was in a truly beautiful place. Willow trees hung down everywhere, water trickled down the rock face surrounding the enclosed pool of water, and lily pads sat in full bloom. I was so thirsty…
My thoughts were interrupted by the same harsh voice that shook me so roughly a few minutes ago. “Master Viridian.” He bowed deeply, and threw me out in front of him. I rolled towards the edge of the water, and looked around. As far as I could see, we were the only ponies around.
“Master Viridian,” he said again, “I’m terribly sorry, but this is a problem of utmost importance.”
I scoured the area for signs of life. All I could see were some turtles, storks, and frogs. Was this “Master” behind one of the many waterfalls perhaps?
Then I gasped as I saw two of the animals, a frog and a stork, morph into ponies before my very eyes. That’s…that’s impossible!
“Silence, youngling.” The frog-pony, his fur patterns matching the colors of his skin just moments before. “Master Viridian is deep within meditation, and cannot be bothered now.”
“I am truly sorry for breaking your concentration, Master Azul, but as I was patrolling the farthest of our land’s borders this morning I found this…outsider.” He spat out the word with contempt.
Master Azul, the frog-pony elder, stayed cool and collected. He raised his eyes with interest. The stork-pony looked rather flustered.
“It must be dealt with immediately!” He shouted.
“Calm yourself, Master Albus.” Master Azul said. “This is a delicate situation. We must handle it so.” He placed his eyes on me. “This outsider…it was alone?”
“No. I found it with Moon Catcher and her brother Lux.”
“Were you following her again?” Master Albus interjected.
My captor flushed ever so slightly red. “I believed her and Lux to be up to no good. Their gathering trips have been very lengthy of late, and I suspect they had something to do with this outsider…”
“Don’t be ridiculous. What motive have they to bring an outsider here? My question is, how did it find us…we are well hidden within the Everfree. Why, something like this hasn’t happened in hundreds of years. No, not since the very first-“
Master Azul stopped his train of thought.
“You child. How did you get here?”
I shook wear I laid on the ground, frightened by the sudden attention. “I-I don’t remember…” The sun was going down, reflecting its final ray’s off the water and into my eyes. I felt blinded, confused.
“Untie her at once. Think child. What happened to you last night?” Master Azul’s eyes searched me for answers, as if he stared hard enough I would spill the contents of my mind. “Relax. Think back. Yesterday was what they call Heart’s Warming Eve where you come from, was it not?”
“Um..I don’t…” I rubbed the spots wear my hooves had been tied together. I was so tired, so thirsty.
“And it was the night of the full moon, was it not?” Master Albus inquired.
“I can’t..”
“Was it not?”
“Please leave me alone…”
“ANSWER THEM, OUTSIDER!” The same harsh voice pierced my yet ears again.
“Stop yelling at me.” My timidity morphed into ire.
Master Azul looked rather embarrassed. “I’m sorry child, our friend here can get rather passionate sometimes-”
“WHO SENT YOU?!” The pony slapped the back of my head, as if to knock the knowledge out of me by force. My head burned with confusion, sadness, and fear, but most of all, anger. I turned around to face him, contempt in my eyes. Though short in stature, he was still slightly taller than me. He used that to his advantage. The moon was just now appearing over the sky, shining down into the enclosure that I stood in oh so defiantly. It shined just the same as the night before. Just as brightly. Just as boldly.
Just as fully.
“I will ask you once more. Why. Are. You. Here.”
I smiled with my dagger-like teeth that sprouted from my mouth. The memories of last night filled my head. The feral instincts took over my body once more. I let loose with the wolf inside me once again, preparing to maul every last one of these poor saps; But before I could tear into the arrogant pony before me, a hoof from behind hit me in just the right spot, and I fell to the ground, motionless.
Master Azul frowned, looked down on me, and let out a sigh.
“Perhaps some questions are best left unanswered.”
