(2) This is Where I End Up?
I woke up to the sound of a foreign bird cawing it's throat out.
"Mom...shut the window.....it's Satur...*yawn*...Saturday......"
I feebly shifted trying to get the blanket back on me. Tossing in the grass and leaves didn't,well, let's just say it didn't work like I planned...
"Grass? Leaves? Huh. Either this is a very well orchestrated prank, or those voices did send me to Equestria. Judging by my tail I'm thinking the former choice...wait....tail?"
Still laying in the grass, I turned around and finally registered that I had an extra limb. I looked down at my han...paws and saw that my fur was a copper-like color all over. My tail was easily my body's length and then some. With further investigations I found out I had a muzzle too. My ears could rotate like a dog's could and press flat against my head. No longer biped, I had to use all four legs to walk. Luckily on Earth I had played that Twilight stairs game. It wasn't as hard as it seemed to be. But only one thought filled my head other than left front, left back, right front, right back.
"Foxes don't have magic!"
I pushed the thought out and focused on walking to the faint sound of rushing water and the smell of wet moss. Note to self. Hearing and smell are better now than they were on Earth. I tripped almost constantly. My balance was terrible. Wait...aren't tails FOR balancing? I face-pawed.
As I stumbled to the riverside, I heard a cacophony of fearful sounds. Roaring downstream. The click of claws on rock. The splash of huge mass swimming this way.
Manticore territory.
Crud.
A manticore is made up of 3 animals. The most prominent is the lion, which is the body, the scorpion's tail, and the wings of a bat. All together is a, to put it bluntly, very scary monster. Now make it white. Yeah. You heard me. An ALBINO Manticore. Now be in it's hunting territory. And looking straight at you. Yep. I'm screwed.
So I used logic.
I ran straight at it.
While it raised it's paw to swat me, I ran under it's legs and flipped onto it's back. Immedietly, I grabbed one wing with my front paws and the other with my tail and brought them toward each other. He cried out in pain. As the last line of defence, the manticore got it's tail and brought it back to strike me. I waited for the tail to come rushing down. When there was a fox-leap between the tail and me, I used my back legs to catapult onto his head, hanging onto his mane. The tail came down in an audible crunch. The venom worked quickly. Soon, the manticore couldn't move it's back legs.
"W-who are you? What do you want of me? What are you?" The dying manticore asked.
I've been here for such a little time! I'm a fox! Is it blind? What was the name of the baby foxes? KITS! Yeah, that was it! But kit is a small name...but if I put on another t at the end....that would work...
"My name is Kitt, the Blurring of Balance, a Healer of Kin, The Avenger of Weak, and the Swift Breeze of the East. I will help you for one reason only. Help me find a town and be my ally and I will heal you. Fair trade?"
Basing the whole thing on bluff, I had no idea if he would accept or not.
"Yes, yes, anything to survive! Please heal me and I will do as you say!"
Huh. Well that worked.
"Fine. I will uphold my side if you uphold yours."
I ran back to my spawning point. Dock leaves were growing haphazardly in clumps. Nightshade crawled up a sapling. Dead hibiscus flowers littered the ground. Running to the dock leaves, I picked the healthiest clump and ran back to the manticore, chewing it as I went. Digging up some moss, I spat the mix onto it and ran to the hibiscus. Grabbing the driest petals I crushed them between two rocks over the moss. I found yarrow and chewed it up also. Nightshade was carefully plucked and added. Two rabbits were eating some wild blueberries. I crushed their skulls and brought them over to my concoction.
I put some of the anti-poison in the other rabbit and left the rest on the moss.
"Eat this. I have to apply the poultice."
The manticore scarfed down the prey while I pushed the rest into the wound. Both in the stomach and the bloodline it would clear the poison out...almost out. Grabbing some apple saplings, I peeled the bark off in strings and tied it around the moss.
"I have done all that I can. It may not be enough."
Suddenly two things happened. One, I felt tired beyond belief, like I would pass out any second, and two, HOW THE HOLY HECK DID I DO THAT!!! I knew no healing on earth, and I got so used to these paws that I ran, and I killed two rabbits! Abilities much? Once I make camp, I'll figure it out.
I stumbled to the river and collapsed with my muzzle in the water. I felt much better, but the river didn't look as good. In the spot where I touched the water, a gray circle, roughly about a foot, spread out. I lapped up the tinted wate-BLEAH warm, disgusting, dirty, YUCK. I drank greedily of the clear water. Much better.
When I arrived it was about noon. I interpreted the sun and estimated now around 1:20 right now.
"Stay here," I told the struggling manticore "I will see what can we eat and where we are."
With that I climbed the tallest tree I could find. I was light and limber enough to climb even the smallest branches, and even on earth I climbed trees so I got to the top pretty quickly.
Turns out that Ponyville was closer than I thought. Up and West of our spawning point the sun shone with noonday light. To the East Fluttershy's Cottage was located. Wait...if we're behind the cottage...then we must be in...The Everfree Forest........?!?!???!?!?!?
Crud.
She will go...
Time will be the key...
Our pawn, our puppet...
Awaken and rise at our command....
"Mfrg...stupid dream....stupid Monday.....oh well..."
Check clock. Late? Check.
Check calendar. Monday? Check.
Realize you woke up for nothing on the only day in the whole month that school is off and worked yourself into a panic? Check.
"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!" Never finishing it. What? I don't curse!
My name is Kat, short for Kathryn, but never used like that. My days consist of school, working in my garden, drawing My Little Pony, and trying to stay alive...or sane for that matter. My grades were average, although I read almost constantly. Being a bookworm has it's ups and downs. There are good things like being invisible, and there are bad things like being bullied constantly. Since my equestrian interests did not generally conform to what was considered normal at my school, I'd become quite adept at the former, and also learned a few tricks like discerning facial expressions and performing illusions.
Being woken up to an adrenaline rush takes a whole lot out of you. Example, I stepped on my cat while bumping into the hard corner of the stained wood desk to trip into a few books and groggily slam into the wall. I stood up, now very much awake, and crossed off the previous day on the calendar. After a quick once-over look at my room, I decided that to start off my day, I would clean up a bit.
Charcoal and colored pencils were strewn about the canvas pads. An Ipad was charging on the corner of my desk. Various books littered the floor. I hummed "Winter Wrap-Up" as I picked up an old school assignment and threw it away.
After the room looked a bit presentable, I quickly grabbed a few clothing items and changed into a white shirt and hardy jeans, put my light brown hair into a sloppy ponytail, and went down the hall and to the left to go outside to see what the garden held. My victory garden had many plants like bok choy and cabbage. It was fun and relaxing and quickly cleared my mind.
"Tomatoes doing well...potatoes need water....oh yeah, the trees! Gotta check them before I go in..."
Smells of mint and rosemary wafted over to me from the treeline. I skirted around the oak tree and the pine over to the newest additions to my garden. Two birch saplings were planted close together to naturally intertwine their roots. I imagined them as good friends...if they were real of course....I did this often, trying to make something from what wasn't. I picked up the watering can and used the path between the rows as not to step on the fruits and vegetables of my labor.
I was watering the juvenile trees when I heard the gate open and close...noisily...and listened to the approaching footsteps
'I'm not expecting anyone. Wonder who that could be?' I thought. Then it occured to me. 'Noone uses the gate....everyone uses the door from the house...'
"Oh look, its the pegasister! Whatcha doing? Burying the last of your dignity! Hah!"
Savannah.
What a surprise.
The school bully found out where I live. And brought a knife.
"Savannah. And just why would I listen to you?" As I said this, she made her way across the backyard over to me, trampling helpless carrots and peppers in her wake.
Curly blond hair bobbed in the slight breeze. A pink mini skirt was matching her pink sweater with her lighter pink top. A pink headba...ok, you get the idea. Total Barbie. Her somewhat calculating hazel eyes peered into my icy blue ones.
While she seemed to have an I'm-better-than-you demeanor, her hands shook with fear.
"Well I guess you know why I'm here?" She dismissed what I said while trying to casually twirl the knife. She almost dropped it, twice.
The truth is I had no idea why.
"Sooooo....anyway.....you kno-"
I stopped in the middle of my sentence and ran toward her, fist ready to connect with flesh. It caught her off guard and I thought it would be a direct punch to her chest.
As my fist rocketed towards her,the sky darkened and a VERY strong breeze proved that critical hits sometimes miss. It flew just to the side of her.
Savannah reacted slowly and with the knife forward in her hand, which is no way to fight with a knife like that, she threw a few slow and inexperienced stabs at me.
I stepped backwards and hooked with my left foot the back of her right knee, tripping her. As she fell, Savanna held out her knife and got me on my right side, shoulder to hip. The sudden jarring pain from the knife made me fall on the grassy earth alongside her. Savanna recovered while I shuddered from the pain and blood loss on the ground and she pressed the knife to my throat.
"You were always living in my shadow. I was better by far! You never had a chance. The voices were right! You are, or should I say WERE, weak!"
As she prepared to give the final life-killing blow, the whole world seemed to freeze up. Savannah froze in her malicious grin. The birds stopped overhead. Not a sound graced this now frozen land. I took this chance to wriggle out of my deathtrap and survey my surroundings. Everything took on a grayish tint that was frozen. Not me though. I wondered what to do next. Then a voice struck up from seemingly nowhere.
"Tut, tut. Death is iminent for this one, brother. Unless of course, she accepts..."
"Accepts what?" I impudently reply while trying to figure out the source of the talking. It seems to be all around me, not shouting, nor whispering.
"We got a fiesty one here, sister. Promising to say the least. Maybe she will survive...
"Wait, hold on, survive what?" The masculine voice joined the feminine first voice in jeering at my predicament. I also noticed that my wound had closed up and the pain was gone. My t-shirt was still ripped though.
"If you prove to be worthy, we might include another chess piece in the game." The feminine voice crooned.
"Chess piece? What? Game? What would happen?...I mean if I accept..." I stalled as my mind flew in a frenzied mess as an attempt to figure out this abnormality that has somehow happened to me of all people.
"We would pull you out only if the situation is too dire. So? What do you say? Will you enter the game? Or will you remain with her and your tortured life? Mr. Detached Voice again. His voice was sort of like Richard Armitage's. Strong, calm, and cool.
"I will, but I have a few conditions."
".....We are listening....."
"Do not worry. They are rational and can be easily granted by gods as you two are. Since the only world that I would think about even wanting to go to is Equestria, you are sending me there right? Right. So one, whatever you change me into has to be something that has not been in the show due to lack of approval with the ones already shown. Becoming a changeling is cheating. Two, it has to use magic and fly in it's life and can be used when called apon after a point in time. Three, it must have a tail. Any kind is fine. May I have your names so I may have a slight grasp on who you are?"
Both voices were silent.
"What! I have a lot of time to think..."
"...I am Yinara, and he is Yangonru. We are the deities of Yin and Yang. We keep the balance as best we can. You have no bounds in your mind, but your mortal body cannot do as your mind. We both have no influence on your actions or words. Usually, when a child is born, we determine it's gender and basic personality. The rest of our family takes care of the rest. If we forget a child, then they either have no sense of humor, irony, or distinguishing abilities, or they become immune to our urgings. Magic is strong in them. Since you are the latter, and the first in centuries, we will abide by your...conditions....and we have your approval to go to Equestria and win the Game. We think that this world needs a slight blurring. Now sleep..." Mrs. Detached-Voice-who-is-apparently-Yinara farewelled.
Leaves crawled up my body and cocooned me. I slept.
