Prota's Journey

I was now on my way back to Night Twister’s lab. He was right. I was just a monster. If I couldn’t be a pony, I’d be a monster. The greatest monster in Equestria. Fate seemed determined to cast me in this role, so I would embrace it. As I drew closer and closer to the place that had been my home for a good part of my life, I began to wonder. Did he miss me? Sure, he treated me terribly but maybe he loved me deep down.

I was almost there. I had just passed the first village I visited, the place where I saw my reflection for the first time. I’d also begun to hunt for food like a true wolf. That was how I’d sustained myself for the journey. After about thirty minutes, the lab came into view. It was strange, I felt a sense of longing for a place I had wanted to escape just a year ago.

I approached the door and went to knock, but I heard him talking inside and went by the window to listen. When I glanced in, I saw him writing notes down and talking to himself as he did so.

“That’s what I need to do with this one!” Night Twister exclaimed as he scribbled more notes down that I couldn’t see. “If I splice Changeling DNA into her, she’ll be able to transform from pony to timberwolf. But what if it throws off the balance?” he gripped his head in frustration. “And I’ll leave her in a wooded area that is home to Timberwolves. That way, they’ll raise her as their own and she’ll be a true monster. Not like my prototype at all. That one was just a failure.”

My heart split in two. Not only did he still think I was a failure, but he was planning to replace me as well. That bastard! I should have expected this. I pounded my fist on the wall, which sent a thud into the cabin.

“Who’s there?” Night Twister said as he put down his notes. He started walking toward the door. I couldn’t face him. Not now, when my heart was broken. I was still a failure to him. I ran as fast as I could, trying to get as far away from there as I could before Night Twister opened the door.

Now that I’d visited, I realized I couldn’t go through with being a monster. What was I? I couldn’t be a pony and I wouldn’t be a monster. An animal? Was I an animal, just trying its best to survive a cold cruel world? That had to be it. I’d find an isolated wood and live out the remainder of my days there.

I kept running as fast as I could. Eventually, I stopped. What was I thinking? How could I live with just the company of animals? I’d be forever alone with no one to talk to. Very well, I would have it both ways. Isolation and company. Back when Baguette was showing me the map of Equestria, there was a place to the north labeled Yakyakistan where creatures called Yaks lived.

Tears filled my eyes as I thought of that memory. I’d ruined Baguette’s life; I no longer deserved the name he gave me. Willow. It was the name of a tree he’d said. No! Stop thinking about that, it’s too painful. Better to not think at all, live off of instinct.

I began my journey north. I walked the entire way. As the air got colder, I felt refreshed. I hoped the climate would freeze my heart and make it so that I no longer felt the pain of my past. The journey was long and difficult. At night, I would do my best to find a cave or something to keep warm. A few times I’d run into some ponies and large fluffy creatures camping. While I longed to come up to their warm fire, I forced myself to stay away. That would only end in disaster. I gave them quite a scare, though. They might not have seen me, but I didn’t doubt they’d heard me.

When I finally made it to Yakyakistan, I saw more of the large fluffy creatures. They seemed to live in villages. A lot of them wore pointy helmets that, in addition to their size, scared me. I wouldn’t want to get in a fight with one of them. Began walking away from the village, hoping to find a place to set up my den. Not too far from the village, I didn’t want to feel alone but not too close either. Eventually, I found the perfect place. Far enough away where no one would find me, but close enough to where I could hear the village.

I began digging. I’d seen a couple of other animals digging dens on my journey here and I did my best to copy them. Once my den was dug, I searched for leaves to fill it with. That way, I could have a comfortable bed. Not only that, but it might provide insulation from the snow. After my den was complete, I began hunting for food. I ate some and cached the rest in places I’d be able to remember.

The first night was difficult. A fox wandered near my den, so I emerged and growled at it. I didn’t think my growl was that scary, but maybe my size scared it because as soon as it saw me it ran off whimpering. I would have to defend my territory, if I wanted to stay. That fox wouldn’t be the last challenger. The next day, I set scent markers around my den. Unfortunately, the area wasn’t big enough so as the winter came in full force I found myself wandering into other territories for food.

Next winter, I expanded my territory. Establishing dominance over the previous owners like a conqueror. But I didn’t want the territory for some stupid reason like greed, I needed it to survive. I made sure to only take as much territory as I needed and let the other animals have enough for themselves. Years passed this way. Each year, I would hunt and store food for the winter. Then when it came, I would eat and defend my territory.

A few times, I wandered near the town and stole newspapers from the mailpony’s cart. It was the only way I could keep the balance between the wolf and the pony that I was composed of. I’d read the papers at the end of the day, by the light of the sunset. That was how I’d learned of my replacement. She’d been living in a place called Dodge City, but in the paper I was reading, she’d disappeared a few days ago.

Of course, my papers were probably out of date. I searched through the pile of unread papers and found one that told of a timberwolf working with a vampire and a snake pony. It sounded like fiction to me, and I ignored it. But about a week later, the vampire showed up. He was walking through the forest with an axe one night. I racked my brain, trying to remember the name of my… I guess she was my sister. I think the paper said she was Misty Leaves. I followed the vampire into the town. What was I thinking? But, I’d heard from the papers that Misty carried a magic amulet. Maybe that amulet could make me look normal. I needed that amulet. By the time he reached the town, I realized the sun was rising. If I went in now, someone might see me. Better to wait until the next night. That way I’d have time to learn more about this stranger.

I scoured my collection of papers for more information about the vampire and my sister. According to reports, Misty looked like a normal pony during the day but at night she changed into the timberwolf. It must have been the amulet. As night fell again, I worked up the courage to enter the village. I told myself over and over that no one would be out and about this time of night. But my heart beat faster and faster as I entered the village and searched for the vampire’s hut.

I found him quite easily, his was the only door that wasn’t locked. Perhaps he thought himself too powerful to lock a door. Or perhaps the fool forgot to lock the door when he went to sleep. Either way, I entered and stood there waiting for him to wake up. When he finally did, I spoke to him. “You,” I said to him. “I’ve heard of you. You work with my sister. Take me to her!” it came out a bit more demanding than I intended, but I was desperate.

“Hold on,” the vampire said as he got out of bed and turned the lights on. He stared at me for several minutes.

“Yes, I’m a monster,” I said to him. I was eager to get going as fast as possible. “Take me to my sister now! I’ve read a few papers, I know she works with you. She calls herself Misty Leaves,” the vampire sighed. Finally, he was giving in. He saw that he had no choice and was going to do as I asked.

“Alright, I’ll take you to her,” the vampire said. He walked out of the hut. I followed him and watched as he walked over to a different hut and poured a brown liquid into a cup. Once he was done with one, he took out another cup and poured more brown liquid into it.

“What are you doing?” I asked as he handed me the cup.

“For the road,” he said as he threw some coins on the hut’s counter and began to walk out of the village. I followed him. “We’ll be taking the long way back to Manehattan since I don’t exactly know what your intentions are with Misty,” he took a sip from his cup and smiled. “Plus, we can get to know each other. My name’s Shadow Fang, what’s yours?” I was silent as I followed him out of the village.

My name? I’d had a name once. What was it? Now that I thought about it, I didn’t remember much about my past. As we finally exited the village, something came into my head. It was a name I’d heard before. But I wasn’t sure about it. “I don’t remember much of who I was before this,” I said. “Just call me Prota.”