The Nine-Tailed Ponyby Burning WickChaptersEvery Journey...Good mornging Be- you're not Beth.Bad Hare DayEvery Journey...Have you ever had the desire to change who you are? Had you ever had that drive to change how you look at yourself and how others look at you? Did you ever know someone who was able to do just that? I do. In fact, I know plenty of people to know that you’re looked upon the same by those closest to you. A grown man who landed the best career in his life will still be the little toddler running around to his mother. True, you may now have a horde of fans when just yesterday you were some farm girl singing a lullaby to your baby sister, but to that little girl, you are still the same loving big sibling. So that’s why I long to see my sisters. They gave me comfort in moments of unhappiness. I would treat them to gifts in times of joy. But time has a great role in this world. It makes humans age and desires grown. My sisters and I have always wanted one thing; we wanted to love someone. One would think that loving each other was enough, but it isn’t. We wanted true love. We wanted the love that comes from being in a happily married couple. We wanted to know how it felt to tie our lives to another person. We wanted to feel the love that a mother gives to her child. But our kind can’t. We aren’t humans. When our true nature is revealed, we’re hunted down or just chased out of town. Humans hated our kind. They hated my sisters and me. They hate the other families. Even with the great fortune we bring, they despised us for not being like them. That’s… that’s when eldest sister had an idea. If they hated us for being different, then we become like them. We must become human to fulfill our desire for love. We could already take a form that will make us appear like them, but it’s our weaknesses that expose us. No, we had to cast aside who we are in order to truly become human. We searched for a way. By the Eight Immortals we looked. We must have traveled across the sea that spanned our homeland to an island chain to the east a hundred times. But we found it. We found how we could change who we are. We met this old woman who had once been like us. She too had looked for a way to escape the wrath that humans dealt to our kind. She was more than willing lend us a hand in our escape from the hate. She taught us a method that she claimed would let us become that what we wished to be. This method involved several steps that ended with a spell. Most of these steps involved what our kind does naturally: blend into a community and make a man fall deeply in love with us using enchantments or our natural techniques. Then there were some other things I never suspected we could do. No less though, we were able to learned and master these steps. We left her house with high hopes. As we near the first village, our family agreed to have eldest test the method first. We all watched as she followed the steps our teacher told us to do. The man she found to test it on was a strong farmer type. To ensure her success, my sisters and I did everything we could to draw attention from her, I even show my true form to the folks of the village. Then on the night eldest became human, the others and I hid just outside the window. He confessed his love her and sealed his fate. Eldest said the spell and we all saw the most amazing sight. A mist of blue flew out of the man’s chest like a bird released from a confining cage and into eldest. She reacted to the flow of energy strangely at first. Then as we gathered around to hear what she had to say, she returned to old self. Old self in mind though, not in body. She had lost everything that once made her like us. She lost her old kind’s body and powers but, she gain the ability to enjoy the life she wanted. Everyone was thrilled to see the spell work. I was horrified. It took only a little time poking the man’s body to realize what had flowed into my sister. It was the man’s soul. It was the man’s spirit energy. It was the man’s life. To become a human, we had to kill a human. When I told of my revelation to my sisters, they all responded like I had grown another head. “Humans hated us,” they told me. “Humans seek to kill us because we’re not like them. So what if one of them dies? You get to live out your dreams.” We left eldest to fulfill her dream after that. Together the rest of us went looking for a man who’s humanity we could take as our own. It didn’t take long though as our little family broke apart in a race against each other to become human. We stayed in contact by sending letters to each other and when we were ready to cast the spell, the rest of us would come to watch, even those of us who were already human. But when it came to my turn to become human… I couldn’t say the spell. Guilt from that night came flooded all my thoughts like something inside of me had kept it trapped until that right moment. Overwhelmed, I bolted out in tears. Later that evening my sister came to comfort me and issued kind words. “You’ll get the soul next time,” they told me. But I didn’t get it the next time or any time after that. Every time I was in inches of becoming human, the spell froze in my throat and I would run out in tears. And every time my sisters would give me comfort. But time makes desires grow and humans age. After each failure, I could see the passing of time on my sister’s faces. One time, one of them came with their newborn. Another time, two of them couldn’t show up because of their families. As the failures stacked up, so did the years on their mortal bodies. And as human’s aged, humans die. It was one of the middle children to pass first. She had fallen ill by a virus carried to her by a foreign traveler. Then it was the eldest as her mortal heart failed her. One by one, as with them becoming human, they died. Sorrow was filling my heart and if I could have, I would have died from it. But my kind isn’t affected by weights of time. But while I was unburdened by time, I was carrying a much heavier weight. My home soon became a field of memories and broken hearts. So as means to escape the hardships, I ran. I bid my remaining sister good bye and climbed onto a ship that was heading West to a land where man had claimed to achieved flight. She was the youngest out of all of us and the one I was closest too. Unlike the others, she too had problems dealing with the guilt that still plagued me. I knew I we wouldn’t meet again in this world, so we promised that we would see each other in the land of souls before she returned as a new person. “You take care of yourself, sister,” she told me with a broken voice. She brushed her hand through my hair as we embraced each other. “I’ll find you,” I replied as we broke apart. With a kiss on her head I walked up the ramp. That was over a hundred years ago. In this new world, I had quickly set out to get that soul so I could find her. I found willing men to bend to my will but… I soon found that the only thing I left behind was my family. Like before, the memories of that night haunted me when I went for the souls. The only difference this time was there were no sisters who could comfort me with kind words and gentle strokes. I would cry myself to sleep for the next week after each failure. It was after a great war that ended when the island chain was hit by a massive bomb when I met someone who finally gave me comfort. It was one of the fairy-folk from a country further west. She offered me a place to stay and helped me recover a bit of I was lacking, love from one who cared. She was curious sprite, always asking about where I came from and in return, she told me about her land. It wasn’t much really but it was just fact that… I have someone that cared about me. A part of me cared about that fairy too. But I couldn’t stay forever like my body wanted. My sister was still waiting in the realm of souls. Souls don’t reincarnate right off the bat but, they still reincarnate. It was only matter of time before her soul would be forced to take on a new body and new memory. I couldn’t break my promise. When I told my friend about the promise I had made, she was more than thrilled to help me out. Together we traveled the land looking for anyone who would do. But even with the new support, I still collapsed under the guilt. But she supported me through each ordeal all the way up to the modern day. ****** “You ready for this?” Bethany asked me as she helped tie my hair up. I nodded while applying the last of my makeup, “Yes.” Adding a bow in the ribbon, the fairy asked, “So, what’s tonight’s agenda?” “Well, first we’ll eat at restaurant,” I started while interlacing my fingers. “Then he’ll drive us to the movies. There, we’ll watch something he’ll ask me to pick.” “Hrmmmm… How do you know he’ll ask you?” she asked with a knowing grin. Looking around at her tiny body floating inches by my face, I replied, “Who’s been doing this for 150 years?” “I know, I know,” she back off with grin. “What’s next?” Looking back at the mirror, I continued, “Then he will drive me over to his house where we proceed to-” “TMI, girl!” she interrupted again. “-stare longing up at the stars.” I finished my sentence with a giggle. “Ohhhhh. Jump the gun there again, didn’t I?” “Never say gun.” “Sorry.” “Anyways,” I said as we walked out into the bedroom, “There, he’ll confess his love that I know he has. Then… I’ll say the spell.” “And then we party at my place!” the sprite finished with cheer. “That’s if I don’t run this time,” I added brushing my newly made ponytail with my hands. Bethany fluttered around and bopped me on the nose, “No worries. If you fail again, I’ll still throw you a party. The only difference is what I’m serving.” “Chicken for if I succeed and Tofu for if I fail right?” I asked knowingly. “Yeppers,” she replied as she gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Do you have everything?” Tapping my pocket, I felt the glass bead within it. “Good Luck and see ya at back at my place!” Beth added before I slipped out the door way with a wave. ***** Everything went according to plan. The meal was perfect. The movie was overly romantic and as I predicted, he took me home so we could stargaze. “And that one is Scorpio,” he said pointing at the collection of stars. “What’s that one?” I asked pointing at a section of the night sky. He inspected the spot before replying, “Why that’s you, of course.” Playing ignorant to the Ursa Major that I was pointing at, I asked, “Really?” “Mmhmmm,” he nodded before pointing to random stars, “those out line your face while those highlight your lips. And those two are your beautiful eyes.” He then paused before adding, “I guess the heavens think you’re as beautiful as I do.” I leaned onto his shoulder while saying, “Awww, you’re just making that up.” “It’s true,” he replied before clearing his throat. “Umm, there’s something I need to say.” This was it; he was going to open himself up. This was my window of chance. All I need to do is say the spell and get to Bethany’s before anyone spotted me. “You probably can tell but, I love you. I love you. Honest to God, I love you.” Here it was; my window of opportunity. Looking into his eyes, I could see the dull blue flame that was his soul dancing wildly. Leaning in close I open my mouth whispered back. “Roono-” Blam! “Back away from my brother!” a blonde hair woman shouted as she kicked the door off its hinges. I was horrified. First, it was the surprise that came from the sound of the door being kicked in on itself. Second, it was when I realized that the moment had passed. Lastly, and the thing that truly placed me into a started me to panic was what she was carrying in her hands; a shotgun. Attempting to cover my nervous state I stood up and said to the hand cannon marauder, “I’m not doing anything to him.” “Like hell,” the woman swore as her hand pulled the choke back. The sound of the weapon priming itself rang loudly in my ears. “He hasn’t gone to work in days. He hasn’t contacted his family in a longer time. His friends hardly see him without you attached to his arm. I thought him to be dead until this morning.” If you gave me enough time, he would have been, I thought morbidly to myself. “Sis, can we talk about this?” my victim started as he moved closer to her side and out of the spread of the weapon. He was quickly silenced by the woman’s raged filled voice, “We can talk as soon as this succubus leaves.” Did she just… call me some European demon? Bethany told me that they used intercourse as a means to draw the life energy from men. Not only did I find the method revolting, I found being called one degrading. “Sis, you read too many horror novels,” the man I would have killed stated. I just had to give this girl a piece of my mind, “Listen here; I’ve done nothing to harm your brother. I’m not going to either.” I bit a finger till the point it began to bleed. “I’m also not a demon. They can’t bleed. So you can just leave us alone.” “Like hell,” she barked raising the barrel up to my face. I had to back off to prevent having my head blasted off. Even the Eight Immortals can’t survive a head wound that big. The hot head’s expression changed from anger to confusion to panic as the shotgun started to tremble in her hand. Even my victim looked worried. Unaware to what they were looking at, I started to panic. “What is there something on my face?” I asked because that is what they were gawking at. There was something on my face. Fur. White fur was poking through my skin all over my body. My ears twitch horribly as they elongated and I could feel my tail bone growing. My shape shifting spell was wearing off and I was reverting back to normal. The only word that escaped my mouth as the blonde pulled the trigger was a swear word in the old tongue. Luckily, in her panic the shot went wild. A nearby picture was blown to pieces and the wall would need to be redone before winter. But unluckily, I found myself holding onto my shoulder as pain bore into my flesh. With one last look at my once prey, I whispered, “I’m sorry it ended this way,” and took off through the window. ***** I had covered the distance between the house and the nearby woods with ease before my legs were soon caught under the reversal effects. Running quickly became walking which quickly became limping and soon I wouldn’t be able to move until the effects of the spell were complete. Taking a seat under a tree, I listened to the cries of the night birds while inspecting my body. My hands were nothing but their normal paw forms as I looked at them down my elongated nose. I could feel the twitching of my ears as the sounds became crisper. And the nine studs I felt growing from my tailbone were now the long beautiful tails they always were. I sat there looking back up at the stars as what happened back at the house replayed back into my mind. I felt a tear rolled down my face. Like nights before, I felt like crying myself to sleep. Not because I couldn’t do it again. No, this time I was going to do it. I had started the spell. The soul would have been mind. I would have been able to find my sister in the soul world before she was reborn. I was so close, and that blonde had to kick the door down. I knew what to do. As I said this has happened before. I would just sit here and wait for the changes to stop before casting a new one and heading back to Bethany’s. So I sat there looking at the Jade Rabbit that hung in the sky. It wasn’t fully there but the sight still remained me of another poor soul unable to see her loved one. My vision started to blur as I allowed sleep to take hold of me. I can live through this. I’m immortal, I thought to myself. I’ll just rest here until I can recover and then I’ll head back to Beth’s. It was a solid plan, one that I knew I could carry out. The bullet wound had drained me of physical energy alongside the transformation. A little rest and I’ll be able to meet back up with that fairy before we try again. BARK! BARK! BARK! AAAWHOOOOOOO! I jumped at the sound of howling hounds. How far did I run? Then I remember that some of the more backwater people of this country hunted small game at night. Raccoons, badgers and the like were all up for game to these people. My reversal was still impeding my movements and I was on the verge of passing out from blood loss. My thoughts raced. I knew the hounds had my scent. I took a look at my body, before bringing my eyes up to the source of the howling. I gauge I had enough time (and energy) to cast one last spell. I prayed that it would work. Closing my eyes I thought of the area around Bethany’s home. Rolling green hills settled among a forest, gentle animals roaming the area with a stream to wash my wound out. It wasn’t too close to Beth’s house I noted. But I rather have to limp in rather than drop right on her doorstep and have her panic. Here goes nothing! I mentally shouted as my magic vibrated throughout my soul and I felt my body, mind, and spirit take flight through time and space. ****** The first thing that I thought about once my thoughts returned to me was pain. Pretty reasonable seeing how I still had shotgun pellets stuck in my shoulder. Still, when my vision cleared I took stock of where I was. It was slightly dense wooded area. Denser than I remembered and the trees had this haunted forest feel to them which was unnerving. Bethany had this urge to shroud every inch of her home in fog. The mist made a great deterrent to humans. The faint sound of water moving around rocks trickled into my hearing. With a look around the oak tree I was leaning up against I saw the stream that I wanted in an open clearing. The moonlight bouncing off the calmer water give it an almost glass like appearance. I saw a deer drinking the cold water as well as several other mammals. With a closer look up stream I could even see a duck floating in the creek. I can say for a fact that it was a truly lovely sight. Doing my best to not apply pressure of any sort to my wounded shoulder, I limped over to lower part of the river in an attempt to not ruin their late night drink. The stings of a hundred bees couldn’t compare to the fire that burned deeper and deeper into my body. Just moving my body the short distance drained whatever energy that my body tried to gain from my moment of respite. Falling into the small river unceremoniously, I used the last of my little strength to position by body so I wouldn’t drown. My body shivered as the freezing coldness soaked my coat. Something came over to me as I laid there enjoying the pain numbing cold. Looking up I saw a white hare looking down at me. It looked different than I remembered members of this family were and for a moment I thought it was the hare from the moon or one of the Wardens of Souls coming to fetch me. To my luck it just sat there and asked with its face, “Why are you lying down in the water?” I rolled around the best I could so I could show the white rabbit the wound better. The rabbit seemed to react just like I expected, a shocked filled expression with a bit of fear hanging on a bit. A part of me couldn’t help but chuckle as it ran off. Most animals run when they see or smell blood so this was nothing new. Rolling onto my back I stared up at the night sky. It was beautiful and unblocked by smog or lights anything really. It made me remember my home a lot. I slept under the stars like this with my sisters back when we were young. The memory brought tears to my face as I looked for other aspects of the night sky. The North Star, the Little Dipper even the full moon gave me thoughts of home. Wait a minute. I felt a surge of panic creep into my body as my gaze shifted back to the full moon. It was there, high in the night sky. It was roughly eleven o’clock if my memory of the positions of the moon was right. It seem like it made sense because by body did feel like it was out for an hour or two. But this was a full moon. I remember it being a half moon when I teleported away. I checked my wound in panic; it was still oozing small traces of blood. With a shake of my head, my thoughts went into overdrive. I’m still bleeding there is no way I could have been asleep that long. I would have healed all the damage by now. There won’t even pain if that was case. Could I’ve manage to jump a bit into the future by mistake? It’s the only logical explanation. True, Beth would assume the worse and took off to look for me. She cared about me as much as I cared about her. But in my state I couldn’t do anything that would help ease the worry in her. Still a part of me hoped. I was starting to fall asleep again when I heard more noise creeping up to me. Sleep wouldn’t even let me see who it was though. Author's Note There is a funny story about how this came to be. One of my classes got me hooked on the Chinese fox spirits. So one day when i needed something for creative full, I started working on this as a toss around piece. Then when it came to taking about final projects, I see a bit about graphic novels. I went "Novel... as in story?" So I went pitched the idea of this narrative to the teacher who said "as long as you can provide true facts about fox spirits in it, I will accept it." So I went, made close to five or so chapters, took the parts that had the most information on fox spirits in them, and poof project done. So this is the chapters already written and hopefully I can finish it some time. Good mornging Be- you're not Beth.The first traces of light touched down upon my face as I returned to the land of consciousness. I stretched and twisted in the comfort of a mattress. I paused slightly, pressing a paw into the feathered bed. It felt too real, when did Beth get a human bed? She always had a patch of grass that was open for me to use but that felt completely different than this. Upon opening my eyes, I gave my bed a quick glance. It was clean, had sheets over it and not a single rip in it. It was a human’s bed I was laying on. It just didn’t make sense to me. Why would a human put me on their bed instead of cage with pillows in it? No, it can’t be so. This had to be a dream. The room was so bright and comforting. I was sleeping on a human bed without signs of being held captive. Nothing else could explain this. Hoping the rest of the room gave off the same welcoming feeling, I rolled over to my other shoulder. Aeepi! I cried as pain erupted from my shoulder. Looking at reignited source of pain, the bullet wounds appeared to be bandaged, and quite well. This was also the first time I took notice of cast that engulfed my whole leg. This was not a dream and a human had found me. Diving off the bed was probably a dumb move from me seeing how I ended up sending another spike of pain from my leg. But I did so and regretted it after I collapsed once again. Unlike last time though, I found that I had retained much more energy and started to stand. The cast helped me keep myself stable as I looked for the door, but a slight twinge of pain echoed in my thoughts with every step. Spotting the closed door on the right side of the bed I walked over. Surprisingly, the knob was out of reach of my paws but not my tails. Turning around so my back was facing the door, I reached out and twisted the handle carefully. With a click the door swung slowly outward dragging me with it. I landed on my rear hard making me yelp once more. Panicking that whoever was downstairs or nearby heard me, I bolted underneath the bed and stared at the door way. The wait was deafening as I didn’t want to take any chances with the human or humans that lived here. My courage to venture out from underneath returned. I crept to the open door keeping my ears open for anything that might sound hostile. Looking down the stairs prove to be a great improvement to my confidence as there was no signs that the human was home. But it also improved my confusion. I heard nothing that resembled a human cleaning. Nothing smelled like a human was cooking and on a closer sniff, I realized that the smell of human never been on this house. It just doesn’t make sense, my mind said back to me as I carefully went downstairs. Why does this house look so well taken care of? Could Bethany have used some of her magic to change it when I left? The bewilderment soon changed back to panic when the door was unlocked. Leaping back up the stairs I dove under the protectiveness of the bed’s underbelly. The door swung open and closed as voices trailed upward. “You said it had metal stuck in its shoulder?” I heard woman’s voice asked. It wasn’t Beth’s voice. This woman sounded unsure of what must have been told to her before entering. There was a brief moment of silence before the woman picked back up. “Well, I read that the griffins use traps that fling metal to impair the victim’s movement. Maybe this fox came from the griffin lands.” Okay there is only one woman on a cell phone, my thoughts comforted me as started to step out before what she said hit me. Griffins? Alive? With their own land? Thoughts of last night returned. Maybe I didn’t jump to the future, but to the past. Beth said that griffins died out centuries ago. But that doesn’t make sense. There would be no traces of cell phones back then. My debate ended as I heard another voice. It was soft, really soft. If I wasn’t in a state of panic, I could fall asleep on her voice. “Oh dear, she must be so lonely being so far from home. I hope she’s still asleep.” Two sets of foot falls came up the stairs yet they sounded different. I wasn’t sure then but it sounded like a hoofed animal stepping on wood. My theory was confirmed when from my hiding spot from underneath the bed, I saw hooves. Yellow and purple hooves. “Oh dear,” the softer of the two voices said as the yellow set ran toward the bed and disappeared. The sound of bird wings flapping came from the other side of the bed. “I think she ran away.” “It’s okay Fluttershy,” the first voice I heard say as it tried to comfort the second one. “Maybe it went home to its family.” I wish I could, my mind commented on the statement. With a shake of my head, I banished the thoughts and decided to get a clearer look at the two creatures that were talking to each other. The set of hooves that I connected to this ‘Fluttershy’ reappeared on the opposite side of the bed with a gently clopping sound. “I guess you’re right, Twilight,” her angel like voice said. Taking my chances, I peeked out to examine my captor. My breath froze as I sat there staring at Pegasus. Well… not really Pegasus. The winged horse of Greece myth was a snowy white and also was a stallion unlike this counterpart. As her voice suggested, this was clearly a mare but it looked different. The face seemed more human like than horse and that’s pushing similarities. Sadness was clearly written on the… horse’s… pony’s… mare Pegasus’s face. Whether it was the defined lips that curved downward or those huge eyes that stared at the wooden floor, I could tell she was sad to see me missing. Maybe when she’s alone I might come and say good bye, I comforted myself with a nod. Looking back up at the creature, I added, Beth never told be about this creature though. Does she even know about it? “Fluttershy,” ‘Twilight’ said in a lower tone that I almost missed. If it wasn’t for Fluttershy’s quick lift of her head to look back across the bed, I probably won’t have paid attention to it. After a brief silence, the mare looked down at me. At me. Her smile widen at the same rate her irises did. With a glance to the other side of the bed, I realized my tails was sticking out the other side and ‘Twilight’ saw them. I pulled myself underneath the bed as the yellow flying horse lowered her head and pushed her way under the frame. “Hi there,” she said in the loudest tone I ever heard her talk that day. It still sounded like a glass harp but was rich with joy. “I’m Fluttershy. Are you feeling better?” It took a slight twinge in my shoulder to remind me of the cast. I glance back and forth from it and the beaming face as the puzzle came together. She seemed to understand my confusion as she answered my unasked question, “Yes, I was the one that tended to your wounds. When Angel woke me up to show Mr. Patches carrying you, I knew I won’t rest until I did the best I could for you.” So that was the noise I heard before I passed out, I noted in hopes to find these two and thank them for rescuing me; if I could even identify them. “Wow,” I heard from the other side of the bed. ‘Twilight’ had lowered her head to peek underneath but didn’t press her head to get a closer look. “You were right Fluttershy, she’s beautiful.” My tails maneuvered around to cover the blush I felt growing for no reason. “Awwwww,” the flying creature of flight sighed as if she was watching puppies play with each other’s tails. “Someone is a little shy.” Her purple faced friend gave a quick amused look at her before returning back to me. I took offense to those words. Granted, when I made men fall in love with me, I offend used the blush as a way to get their attentions. But here I was getting compliments from two sentient beings of a horse-like species and was blushing like I wanted their hearts to melt. It didn’t take long for me to pick up from the giggles that during my mental fit, I was brushing my tails with my fore paws. After getting control of her mirth, Fluttershy reached out with a hoof and asked, “Can you please come out from underneath the bed? It’s awful dusty under there.” You had to say dust, didn’t you? I mentally sassed her as my nose started to twitch. I started to walk closer to the outstretched hoof with caution. Another twitch in my muzzle halted me just an inch from the horse-like hoof. My eyelids join in the twitching as I involuntarily drew breath. Achoo! I sneezed loudly while sending warmth from my nostrils. I heard a yelp through my closed sight followed by a scuffle. Opening my eyes I saw that my doctor had retreated from the bed. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked as I poked my head out from underneath the dusty underbelly. Fluttershy was shaking her hoof gingerly in the air as she replied, “I-I’m fine, Twilight. It’s just a little fire.” The interest and confusion reach a peak in the other mare’s voice. “Fire? She blew fire?!” “It was just a little flame,” my doctor said inspecting her hoof before looking at me. Fluttershy’s friend started talking some more at this point. Something about dragons and demons from a place called Tartarus. I happened to pay little attention to it as I had another thing to worry about. Scrambling, I pulled the rest of my body out and rushed over to the open door. My shoulder throbbed as I applied pressure but it did little to slow me down. Taking the steps two at a time, I landed on the lower floor with a thud, making the Persian cat sleeping by them jump up and hiss at me before curling back up on something. Right about that same time, the two strangely colored mares started their cadence of hoof falls. Finding the door outside was easy. Finding the stream that I was taken from was easier, it just happened to be right in front of the house. How I didn’t see the small foot bridge that spanned the creek under a full moon, I will never know. Finding where the hare found me, I quickly started back tracking. Following the trail led me back into the trees and to mighty oak that I woke up on. At first glance, nothing. I saw nothing next to the tree or between the roots. Running around the trunk proved just as useless. The orb I had in my pocket before I teleported wasn’t there. Panic swept over my body. I didn’t find the orb, I was still recovering, there are two sentient equines running up to me, and I was in someplace that only the Eight Immortals knows where. Scratch that last part. I don’t even think they know where this place is. Without my orb, I wasn’t able to go home, I wasn’t able to defend myself, and I wasn’t able to communicate with these equines let alone trying to blend in with them. I wasn’t able to see Bethany or keep my promise to my sister. I wasn’t able to do anything aside sit and cry. Bad Hare DayI had thought that I had felt pain and loneliness back when I left my last sister. But then, without Beth, without the ability to talk, without the ability to get home or even to become mortal I truly felt alone. Well alone mentally. After being found by Fluttershy again, I was taken into her home. There she treated much differently than I had first expected. To say that I was being treated like a house pet would be an understatement. Granted she gave me food and water, but then came to her socializing. Despite her name, this ‘Fluttershy’ was quite the conversationalist with the other animals. I was sitting on the couch that was placed in the living room when a small patch of random woodland critters came bursting in in a panic. In matter of seconds, the mare Pegasus had them calmed down and was addressing each one of their problems. I even decided to follow her as she went to help young robins during their first flight. It was like watching a musician playing a number from some German writer from long ago. It was entertaining and entrancing. But as I said, I was mentally alone. Fluttershy did give me comfort but it was more like a little girl giving attention to her puppy; not the love that my sisters and I shared. It wasn’t even close to friendship me and Bethany had. This was just an owner and pet relationship and I was the pet. Sure I was able to show thanks with a nod and a smile but it didn’t feel right. As I said, I couldn’t say thank you or even hold a conversation with her. I couldn’t befriend this strange (yet cute) variation of Greek Mythology. I couldn’t care for her like she did for me. I was just a pet that she was taking care off. ****** “Oh dear, oh dear,” Fluttershy said in a panic as she hurried back and forth through her house. I was lying on the couch watching the scene as she ran around. “I’m so late. I’m so going to be late,” she continued as she came up to me and looked underneath her sofa. Finding nothing she backed up and ran over to the cabinet she checked four times before hand (should I start saying “before hoof”?). “Where did it I leave it?” That was when the white hare from that night came hopping in with a pair of bags held highly in his paws. My caretaker rushed over to him and said, “I’m sorry, Angel Bunny, but that’s not what I’m looking for,” before running over to a nightstand. ‘Angel Bunny’ didn’t take this rejection very well as he jump up to her and waved it in front of her face. Unsurprisingly, the pony told him that it wasn’t what she was looking for again. Surprisingly though was what Angel did next. The rabbit placed the bag down, hopped up and smacked her on the cheek before opening the bag up and pointed inside. Compelled by her pet’s reaction, the pegasus looked inside. Her panicked state switched to one of joy as she stared deeper inside it. With a cheer of happiness, she picked the bunny up and hugged him. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, Angel,” she exclaimed as she hovered in air just inches off the ground. Her levity was interrupted once more as the hare slapped her face once more (not has hard this time though). Realizing she was burning daylight, she set the bunny down, threw the bags on her back and took off out the door. I lowered my head hoping to sleep when she reentered. “Angel, can you please look after Tails while I’m gone?” she asked. ‘Tails’ is what the pegasus began to call me during my stay. I can see why she calls me that but to me it was an offensive name. To call me Tails because I had nine of them is just like me calling her Wingy because she’s a pegasus. With a nod, Angel pushed her out the door only for her to push herself back in. “Oh and make sure you eat as well.” With another nod, Angel pushed her through the door, closed it and locked it. Fluttershy continued to say things through the door before she finally took off. As the sound of flapping wings reached our ears, Angel sighed before looking up at me. I gave him my best “You had a rough day because, it’s written on your face” look. He seemed to read my expression well because he shrugged in return. I started to lower my head again when the urge to do something else rose. Getting up and jumping off the couch, I walked over to the hare that stood a clear head smaller than me. The dull thuds of my cast remained me of my condition, though it was more deadweight now. I knew this hare was the one that brought me here, so with respect I gave him a bow. When I looked up, I saw that he was gone. With a quick turn of my head I saw him pulling out a thick book. Letting curiosity get the better of me I walked over to inspect the tome. On the cover was the English word ‘Dictionary’. Thank you Bethany for teaching me English writing, I thought to myself. I did a double take. Why would a rabbit need a dictionary? Why does this pony have a dictionary? These ponies are literate? How do they even write? I sat there in a daze brushing a tail when I felt a slight jab in my side. Refocusing, I saw Angel point at a word with in the book. What. “What” was the word he picked out though once I had a good enough look at it; he flipped through the pages before stopping on another word. This one read “are”. He then flipped the pages once more and stopped on the word “you”. “What are you?” he was asking. Taking the book, I started flipping through the pages myself. It was harder (and longer) than Angel made it seem because I found myself missing each page I was looking for. When I finally got around to pointing out “nine-tail fox”, the bunny glare at me with a “No duh” look. I had to roll my eyes as I continued to flip through the pages. When I finally found the word “spirit” and showed it to him, he started poking my side. Giving him a look that could kill, he backed off, took the book and asked, “If you are a spirit, why I can touch you?” Pushing the book back to me I gave him my best explanation of my state. He seemed to doubt my telling of my body being nothing more than a vessel for my spirit but it was enough to stop him from further breaking my personal bubble. “You’re like a ghost possessing a body?” Angel asked afterwards. “Yes,” I replied using the book once more, “but possessing my body, understand?” The hare of the house thought it over before shaking his head. With a sigh I left him to his book and return to the couch which was became more inviting at that moment. But before I could let the embrace of slumber touch me, the hare was up on the couch slapping me. What?! I mentally shouted at him though all I could really do was glare. “Let’s play,” was what he showed to me. Yes, that’s right. This rabbit has the nerve to poke at me, question my existence and slap me awake and thinks I’m going to play with him. Of course not, so I closed the book and shook my head to convey my message. Ether Angel had his cotton tail in his eyes or just plain stupid because he opened the book and pointed out “Let’s play” again only for me to give him the same reply. This went on for about five more times before I had enough. Taking the book in my paws, I replied, “Fine, let’s play “keep the dictionary away from the annoying rabbit”.” He didn’t like choice in game but that’s what he gets for bugging me. Jumping down, I pranced away from my tormentor; book in mouth, with a trail of thuds following me. You’re probably thinking- “Why are you running when you have a injure leg?” My answer, simple! I’m a spirit and we are as light as air and I apply little if any pressure to the floor when I run. In fact the only reason why my foot falls are making any sounds at all is because of the cast. Jumping around the corner and into the kitchen, I quickly glanced back to see that my plan worked. Floppy Ears was trailing close by no more than five carrot lengths with the most displeased look I’ve ever seen on a rodent. If I didn’t have the book, I would be laughing at the irony of this subject matter. I rounded into the bathroom and took shelter in the tub. I heard my hunter enter the room with the pitter patter of his furry feet. I sat and waited for any sound of him leaving but none came. I gave him a rough three minutes before jumping out again and making a break back for the living room. I heard a whistle erupt from behind but paid little attention as I lead Angel up the stairs. Heading into the bedroom, I paused to check to see how close Cottontail was. It wasn’t long before I heard the pitter patter of footfalls coming up the stairs. This storm of feet though, sounded heavier. To my surprise, Angel called in reinforcements in the shape of two male badgers. That hare must have unlocked the door when we past it and allowed these two huge animals of strength to come in and block my only escape. He knew he had me cornered and with his wide grin of victory, he rubbed it into my face. I wasn’t going to give up that easily though. As he came for the book, I threw my head back with the book flying out of my teeth. With skill, I started to juggle the book among my tails as he dove back and forth, waving his tiny paws like a maniac. Finally he got the book and ceremonially stated “I win”. Chuckling, I leapt onto the bed to curl up. Yet that rabbit continue to harassed me by slapping my cheek and pointed out, “Let’s play some more” in that infernal book. Taking the book, I replied as nicely as I could. He didn’t take it well seeing how he whistled again, which made the badgers walked up, picked me up off the bed and dragged me outside where the dictionary was enjoying a brief bird’s eye view of the front yard just moments before. ****** When I first realized that I wasn’t anywhere near Beth’s home, I thought I would never be happy. Stop me if I start to sound like a broken record but I had nothing to care about in this world. No family, no friends, no nothing and it was the worst feeling a being can feel. But I’ve learned different spending time with these animals. They’re a wild bunch despite their domestic surroundings. Lead by Angel, the mob of squirrels, chipmunks and other rodents formed a massive game of tag though it looked like normal animals running from a predator. What made this game even more natural than it was supposed to be was when I got tagged. Due to my size compared to the others; I was a rather large target. But with every weakness, there was an advantage and it was one I exploited countless times. My longer strides allowed me to keep pace with even the fastest of mice. The only one that even seemed to match me in speed was Angel. It felt so good to once again run wild among the trees, not giving a care about the world around you. I had once thought that this game was only for little cubs and human children. But here I am, over three centuries old and chasing after my lucky footed tormentor like a newborn. There was one time as I ran after this squirrel where I just stopped dead in my tracks. In a brief moment, every critter was replaced with the smiling faces of my sisters. They were young, healthy, and full of life. I recognized the scene was one that took place back before we ever thought of the idea of becoming human. I must have zoned out for a while because when my mind had focused once more, I ended up staring into the concern eyes of my white hare caretaker. Looking around I noticed that aside from the bunny, all the other animals were out of reach. I knew that if he could talk, he would probably ask, “Are you okay?” Shaking my head, I raised my paw and tapped his forehead before I walked away toward the house. Guessing from the reaction that he gave, he must have figure out that I tagged him before quitting. Grinning through the tears, I mentally said, Got ya, to him. ****** I had retired back to the couch I had claimed as my territory for the remainder of my stay. None of the other animals seemed to mind it, not even the cat I scared yesterday. Speaking of the cat, I finally got a chance to examine it as I laid there. It had this fluffy coat that was as white as mine with this tiny purple bow on its head. While I couldn’t see its face at the moment, I was able to spot a collar of the same hue of the bow with what appeared to be jewels embedded into it. One would ask, “Why does any of this matter?” Well, as I was enjoying an afternoon snooze, Fluttershy returned. “Oh I must thank you again for looking after Opalescence while I was away, Fluttershy,” I heard first. This voice was proper, and if anything, more civilized than any other voices I heard so far. “It’s nothing really,” Fluttershy replied as she crossed the threshold. Next to my strange yellow caretaker was a unicorn. She stood tall and carried herself in a manner that seemed to fit the earlier voice. Every aspect about her also shouted upper crust beauty. “Oh please, darling,” this newcomer said, waving her hoof gently, “You know as much as I do that Opal doesn’t treat others so kindly. Once I get settled back in, I’ll start working on a new dress, just for you.” “You don’t have too, Rarity,” my hostess said as she went for a cat carrier. “But it’s very least I can do after you’ve spent a week taking care of her,” Rarity pointed out as she joined the pegasus, “Just look at yourself. I swear you as if you haven’t slept in days.” Giving Fluttershy a quick glance, I noticed traces of dark rings under her eyes. “I’m fine really,” she muttered with the cat carrier’s handle in her mouth. She placed down by the cat that was interested in something else. It looked up with a start as if it was in a trance. Then, without a meow, picked something up and walked inside its carrier. “My word,” the unicorn said flabbergasted, “She’s hardly this cooperative.” Fluttershy was also stunned by the cat’s behavior, “I usually have to talk to her once before she goes in.” “Did you do anything while I was away?” Rarity asked as the cat carrier started floating up onto her backside. I paid little attention to what Fluttershy said for I was more focused at Rarity’s glowing horn. Both it and the carrier had this aura around it. Taking a sniff in their direction, I realized that it was in fact magic. Not like mine by a mile and nothing like Bethany’s or even the dragon gods’ powers back home. But it was magic. “Well,” the unicorn said as my mind focused back into the conversation, “I’m sure once Opal gets back home, everything will be fine.” “I hope so,” the pegasus added as she lead her friend toward the door. “See you tomorrow.” “Tomorrow?” the white pony asked puzzled. After a moment to think it over she exclaimed, “Oh right, the spa!” With a smile, the pair departed each other’s company. After she closed the door, Fluttershy trotted up to me and asked, “Well how are you, Tails? Feeling better?” I nodded with a furry grin. As she smiled back at me, my cheerful expression darkened. Unknowingly to my change in moods, she went about her house humming a simple tune. So why did I react in such a way. She was covered in the stench of magic. It was a harmful enchantment, one that was meant to drain the victim of the life energy and it was mine.
Every Journey...Have you ever had the desire to change who you are? Had you ever had that drive to change how you look at yourself and how others look at you? Did you ever know someone who was able to do just that? I do. In fact, I know plenty of people to know that you’re looked upon the same by those closest to you. A grown man who landed the best career in his life will still be the little toddler running around to his mother. True, you may now have a horde of fans when just yesterday you were some farm girl singing a lullaby to your baby sister, but to that little girl, you are still the same loving big sibling. So that’s why I long to see my sisters. They gave me comfort in moments of unhappiness. I would treat them to gifts in times of joy. But time has a great role in this world. It makes humans age and desires grown. My sisters and I have always wanted one thing; we wanted to love someone. One would think that loving each other was enough, but it isn’t. We wanted true love. We wanted the love that comes from being in a happily married couple. We wanted to know how it felt to tie our lives to another person. We wanted to feel the love that a mother gives to her child. But our kind can’t. We aren’t humans. When our true nature is revealed, we’re hunted down or just chased out of town. Humans hated our kind. They hated my sisters and me. They hate the other families. Even with the great fortune we bring, they despised us for not being like them. That’s… that’s when eldest sister had an idea. If they hated us for being different, then we become like them. We must become human to fulfill our desire for love. We could already take a form that will make us appear like them, but it’s our weaknesses that expose us. No, we had to cast aside who we are in order to truly become human. We searched for a way. By the Eight Immortals we looked. We must have traveled across the sea that spanned our homeland to an island chain to the east a hundred times. But we found it. We found how we could change who we are. We met this old woman who had once been like us. She too had looked for a way to escape the wrath that humans dealt to our kind. She was more than willing lend us a hand in our escape from the hate. She taught us a method that she claimed would let us become that what we wished to be. This method involved several steps that ended with a spell. Most of these steps involved what our kind does naturally: blend into a community and make a man fall deeply in love with us using enchantments or our natural techniques. Then there were some other things I never suspected we could do. No less though, we were able to learned and master these steps. We left her house with high hopes. As we near the first village, our family agreed to have eldest test the method first. We all watched as she followed the steps our teacher told us to do. The man she found to test it on was a strong farmer type. To ensure her success, my sisters and I did everything we could to draw attention from her, I even show my true form to the folks of the village. Then on the night eldest became human, the others and I hid just outside the window. He confessed his love her and sealed his fate. Eldest said the spell and we all saw the most amazing sight. A mist of blue flew out of the man’s chest like a bird released from a confining cage and into eldest. She reacted to the flow of energy strangely at first. Then as we gathered around to hear what she had to say, she returned to old self. Old self in mind though, not in body. She had lost everything that once made her like us. She lost her old kind’s body and powers but, she gain the ability to enjoy the life she wanted. Everyone was thrilled to see the spell work. I was horrified. It took only a little time poking the man’s body to realize what had flowed into my sister. It was the man’s soul. It was the man’s spirit energy. It was the man’s life. To become a human, we had to kill a human. When I told of my revelation to my sisters, they all responded like I had grown another head. “Humans hated us,” they told me. “Humans seek to kill us because we’re not like them. So what if one of them dies? You get to live out your dreams.” We left eldest to fulfill her dream after that. Together the rest of us went looking for a man who’s humanity we could take as our own. It didn’t take long though as our little family broke apart in a race against each other to become human. We stayed in contact by sending letters to each other and when we were ready to cast the spell, the rest of us would come to watch, even those of us who were already human. But when it came to my turn to become human… I couldn’t say the spell. Guilt from that night came flooded all my thoughts like something inside of me had kept it trapped until that right moment. Overwhelmed, I bolted out in tears. Later that evening my sister came to comfort me and issued kind words. “You’ll get the soul next time,” they told me. But I didn’t get it the next time or any time after that. Every time I was in inches of becoming human, the spell froze in my throat and I would run out in tears. And every time my sisters would give me comfort. But time makes desires grow and humans age. After each failure, I could see the passing of time on my sister’s faces. One time, one of them came with their newborn. Another time, two of them couldn’t show up because of their families. As the failures stacked up, so did the years on their mortal bodies. And as human’s aged, humans die. It was one of the middle children to pass first. She had fallen ill by a virus carried to her by a foreign traveler. Then it was the eldest as her mortal heart failed her. One by one, as with them becoming human, they died. Sorrow was filling my heart and if I could have, I would have died from it. But my kind isn’t affected by weights of time. But while I was unburdened by time, I was carrying a much heavier weight. My home soon became a field of memories and broken hearts. So as means to escape the hardships, I ran. I bid my remaining sister good bye and climbed onto a ship that was heading West to a land where man had claimed to achieved flight. She was the youngest out of all of us and the one I was closest too. Unlike the others, she too had problems dealing with the guilt that still plagued me. I knew I we wouldn’t meet again in this world, so we promised that we would see each other in the land of souls before she returned as a new person. “You take care of yourself, sister,” she told me with a broken voice. She brushed her hand through my hair as we embraced each other. “I’ll find you,” I replied as we broke apart. With a kiss on her head I walked up the ramp. That was over a hundred years ago. In this new world, I had quickly set out to get that soul so I could find her. I found willing men to bend to my will but… I soon found that the only thing I left behind was my family. Like before, the memories of that night haunted me when I went for the souls. The only difference this time was there were no sisters who could comfort me with kind words and gentle strokes. I would cry myself to sleep for the next week after each failure. It was after a great war that ended when the island chain was hit by a massive bomb when I met someone who finally gave me comfort. It was one of the fairy-folk from a country further west. She offered me a place to stay and helped me recover a bit of I was lacking, love from one who cared. She was curious sprite, always asking about where I came from and in return, she told me about her land. It wasn’t much really but it was just fact that… I have someone that cared about me. A part of me cared about that fairy too. But I couldn’t stay forever like my body wanted. My sister was still waiting in the realm of souls. Souls don’t reincarnate right off the bat but, they still reincarnate. It was only matter of time before her soul would be forced to take on a new body and new memory. I couldn’t break my promise. When I told my friend about the promise I had made, she was more than thrilled to help me out. Together we traveled the land looking for anyone who would do. But even with the new support, I still collapsed under the guilt. But she supported me through each ordeal all the way up to the modern day. ****** “You ready for this?” Bethany asked me as she helped tie my hair up. I nodded while applying the last of my makeup, “Yes.” Adding a bow in the ribbon, the fairy asked, “So, what’s tonight’s agenda?” “Well, first we’ll eat at restaurant,” I started while interlacing my fingers. “Then he’ll drive us to the movies. There, we’ll watch something he’ll ask me to pick.” “Hrmmmm… How do you know he’ll ask you?” she asked with a knowing grin. Looking around at her tiny body floating inches by my face, I replied, “Who’s been doing this for 150 years?” “I know, I know,” she back off with grin. “What’s next?” Looking back at the mirror, I continued, “Then he will drive me over to his house where we proceed to-” “TMI, girl!” she interrupted again. “-stare longing up at the stars.” I finished my sentence with a giggle. “Ohhhhh. Jump the gun there again, didn’t I?” “Never say gun.” “Sorry.” “Anyways,” I said as we walked out into the bedroom, “There, he’ll confess his love that I know he has. Then… I’ll say the spell.” “And then we party at my place!” the sprite finished with cheer. “That’s if I don’t run this time,” I added brushing my newly made ponytail with my hands. Bethany fluttered around and bopped me on the nose, “No worries. If you fail again, I’ll still throw you a party. The only difference is what I’m serving.” “Chicken for if I succeed and Tofu for if I fail right?” I asked knowingly. “Yeppers,” she replied as she gave me a kiss on the forehead. “Do you have everything?” Tapping my pocket, I felt the glass bead within it. “Good Luck and see ya at back at my place!” Beth added before I slipped out the door way with a wave. ***** Everything went according to plan. The meal was perfect. The movie was overly romantic and as I predicted, he took me home so we could stargaze. “And that one is Scorpio,” he said pointing at the collection of stars. “What’s that one?” I asked pointing at a section of the night sky. He inspected the spot before replying, “Why that’s you, of course.” Playing ignorant to the Ursa Major that I was pointing at, I asked, “Really?” “Mmhmmm,” he nodded before pointing to random stars, “those out line your face while those highlight your lips. And those two are your beautiful eyes.” He then paused before adding, “I guess the heavens think you’re as beautiful as I do.” I leaned onto his shoulder while saying, “Awww, you’re just making that up.” “It’s true,” he replied before clearing his throat. “Umm, there’s something I need to say.” This was it; he was going to open himself up. This was my window of chance. All I need to do is say the spell and get to Bethany’s before anyone spotted me. “You probably can tell but, I love you. I love you. Honest to God, I love you.” Here it was; my window of opportunity. Looking into his eyes, I could see the dull blue flame that was his soul dancing wildly. Leaning in close I open my mouth whispered back. “Roono-” Blam! “Back away from my brother!” a blonde hair woman shouted as she kicked the door off its hinges. I was horrified. First, it was the surprise that came from the sound of the door being kicked in on itself. Second, it was when I realized that the moment had passed. Lastly, and the thing that truly placed me into a started me to panic was what she was carrying in her hands; a shotgun. Attempting to cover my nervous state I stood up and said to the hand cannon marauder, “I’m not doing anything to him.” “Like hell,” the woman swore as her hand pulled the choke back. The sound of the weapon priming itself rang loudly in my ears. “He hasn’t gone to work in days. He hasn’t contacted his family in a longer time. His friends hardly see him without you attached to his arm. I thought him to be dead until this morning.” If you gave me enough time, he would have been, I thought morbidly to myself. “Sis, can we talk about this?” my victim started as he moved closer to her side and out of the spread of the weapon. He was quickly silenced by the woman’s raged filled voice, “We can talk as soon as this succubus leaves.” Did she just… call me some European demon? Bethany told me that they used intercourse as a means to draw the life energy from men. Not only did I find the method revolting, I found being called one degrading. “Sis, you read too many horror novels,” the man I would have killed stated. I just had to give this girl a piece of my mind, “Listen here; I’ve done nothing to harm your brother. I’m not going to either.” I bit a finger till the point it began to bleed. “I’m also not a demon. They can’t bleed. So you can just leave us alone.” “Like hell,” she barked raising the barrel up to my face. I had to back off to prevent having my head blasted off. Even the Eight Immortals can’t survive a head wound that big. The hot head’s expression changed from anger to confusion to panic as the shotgun started to tremble in her hand. Even my victim looked worried. Unaware to what they were looking at, I started to panic. “What is there something on my face?” I asked because that is what they were gawking at. There was something on my face. Fur. White fur was poking through my skin all over my body. My ears twitch horribly as they elongated and I could feel my tail bone growing. My shape shifting spell was wearing off and I was reverting back to normal. The only word that escaped my mouth as the blonde pulled the trigger was a swear word in the old tongue. Luckily, in her panic the shot went wild. A nearby picture was blown to pieces and the wall would need to be redone before winter. But unluckily, I found myself holding onto my shoulder as pain bore into my flesh. With one last look at my once prey, I whispered, “I’m sorry it ended this way,” and took off through the window. ***** I had covered the distance between the house and the nearby woods with ease before my legs were soon caught under the reversal effects. Running quickly became walking which quickly became limping and soon I wouldn’t be able to move until the effects of the spell were complete. Taking a seat under a tree, I listened to the cries of the night birds while inspecting my body. My hands were nothing but their normal paw forms as I looked at them down my elongated nose. I could feel the twitching of my ears as the sounds became crisper. And the nine studs I felt growing from my tailbone were now the long beautiful tails they always were. I sat there looking back up at the stars as what happened back at the house replayed back into my mind. I felt a tear rolled down my face. Like nights before, I felt like crying myself to sleep. Not because I couldn’t do it again. No, this time I was going to do it. I had started the spell. The soul would have been mind. I would have been able to find my sister in the soul world before she was reborn. I was so close, and that blonde had to kick the door down. I knew what to do. As I said this has happened before. I would just sit here and wait for the changes to stop before casting a new one and heading back to Bethany’s. So I sat there looking at the Jade Rabbit that hung in the sky. It wasn’t fully there but the sight still remained me of another poor soul unable to see her loved one. My vision started to blur as I allowed sleep to take hold of me. I can live through this. I’m immortal, I thought to myself. I’ll just rest here until I can recover and then I’ll head back to Beth’s. It was a solid plan, one that I knew I could carry out. The bullet wound had drained me of physical energy alongside the transformation. A little rest and I’ll be able to meet back up with that fairy before we try again. BARK! BARK! BARK! AAAWHOOOOOOO! I jumped at the sound of howling hounds. How far did I run? Then I remember that some of the more backwater people of this country hunted small game at night. Raccoons, badgers and the like were all up for game to these people. My reversal was still impeding my movements and I was on the verge of passing out from blood loss. My thoughts raced. I knew the hounds had my scent. I took a look at my body, before bringing my eyes up to the source of the howling. I gauge I had enough time (and energy) to cast one last spell. I prayed that it would work. Closing my eyes I thought of the area around Bethany’s home. Rolling green hills settled among a forest, gentle animals roaming the area with a stream to wash my wound out. It wasn’t too close to Beth’s house I noted. But I rather have to limp in rather than drop right on her doorstep and have her panic. Here goes nothing! I mentally shouted as my magic vibrated throughout my soul and I felt my body, mind, and spirit take flight through time and space. ****** The first thing that I thought about once my thoughts returned to me was pain. Pretty reasonable seeing how I still had shotgun pellets stuck in my shoulder. Still, when my vision cleared I took stock of where I was. It was slightly dense wooded area. Denser than I remembered and the trees had this haunted forest feel to them which was unnerving. Bethany had this urge to shroud every inch of her home in fog. The mist made a great deterrent to humans. The faint sound of water moving around rocks trickled into my hearing. With a look around the oak tree I was leaning up against I saw the stream that I wanted in an open clearing. The moonlight bouncing off the calmer water give it an almost glass like appearance. I saw a deer drinking the cold water as well as several other mammals. With a closer look up stream I could even see a duck floating in the creek. I can say for a fact that it was a truly lovely sight. Doing my best to not apply pressure of any sort to my wounded shoulder, I limped over to lower part of the river in an attempt to not ruin their late night drink. The stings of a hundred bees couldn’t compare to the fire that burned deeper and deeper into my body. Just moving my body the short distance drained whatever energy that my body tried to gain from my moment of respite. Falling into the small river unceremoniously, I used the last of my little strength to position by body so I wouldn’t drown. My body shivered as the freezing coldness soaked my coat. Something came over to me as I laid there enjoying the pain numbing cold. Looking up I saw a white hare looking down at me. It looked different than I remembered members of this family were and for a moment I thought it was the hare from the moon or one of the Wardens of Souls coming to fetch me. To my luck it just sat there and asked with its face, “Why are you lying down in the water?” I rolled around the best I could so I could show the white rabbit the wound better. The rabbit seemed to react just like I expected, a shocked filled expression with a bit of fear hanging on a bit. A part of me couldn’t help but chuckle as it ran off. Most animals run when they see or smell blood so this was nothing new. Rolling onto my back I stared up at the night sky. It was beautiful and unblocked by smog or lights anything really. It made me remember my home a lot. I slept under the stars like this with my sisters back when we were young. The memory brought tears to my face as I looked for other aspects of the night sky. The North Star, the Little Dipper even the full moon gave me thoughts of home. Wait a minute. I felt a surge of panic creep into my body as my gaze shifted back to the full moon. It was there, high in the night sky. It was roughly eleven o’clock if my memory of the positions of the moon was right. It seem like it made sense because by body did feel like it was out for an hour or two. But this was a full moon. I remember it being a half moon when I teleported away. I checked my wound in panic; it was still oozing small traces of blood. With a shake of my head, my thoughts went into overdrive. I’m still bleeding there is no way I could have been asleep that long. I would have healed all the damage by now. There won’t even pain if that was case. Could I’ve manage to jump a bit into the future by mistake? It’s the only logical explanation. True, Beth would assume the worse and took off to look for me. She cared about me as much as I cared about her. But in my state I couldn’t do anything that would help ease the worry in her. Still a part of me hoped. I was starting to fall asleep again when I heard more noise creeping up to me. Sleep wouldn’t even let me see who it was though. Author's Note There is a funny story about how this came to be. One of my classes got me hooked on the Chinese fox spirits. So one day when i needed something for creative full, I started working on this as a toss around piece. Then when it came to taking about final projects, I see a bit about graphic novels. I went "Novel... as in story?" So I went pitched the idea of this narrative to the teacher who said "as long as you can provide true facts about fox spirits in it, I will accept it." So I went, made close to five or so chapters, took the parts that had the most information on fox spirits in them, and poof project done. So this is the chapters already written and hopefully I can finish it some time.
Good mornging Be- you're not Beth.The first traces of light touched down upon my face as I returned to the land of consciousness. I stretched and twisted in the comfort of a mattress. I paused slightly, pressing a paw into the feathered bed. It felt too real, when did Beth get a human bed? She always had a patch of grass that was open for me to use but that felt completely different than this. Upon opening my eyes, I gave my bed a quick glance. It was clean, had sheets over it and not a single rip in it. It was a human’s bed I was laying on. It just didn’t make sense to me. Why would a human put me on their bed instead of cage with pillows in it? No, it can’t be so. This had to be a dream. The room was so bright and comforting. I was sleeping on a human bed without signs of being held captive. Nothing else could explain this. Hoping the rest of the room gave off the same welcoming feeling, I rolled over to my other shoulder. Aeepi! I cried as pain erupted from my shoulder. Looking at reignited source of pain, the bullet wounds appeared to be bandaged, and quite well. This was also the first time I took notice of cast that engulfed my whole leg. This was not a dream and a human had found me. Diving off the bed was probably a dumb move from me seeing how I ended up sending another spike of pain from my leg. But I did so and regretted it after I collapsed once again. Unlike last time though, I found that I had retained much more energy and started to stand. The cast helped me keep myself stable as I looked for the door, but a slight twinge of pain echoed in my thoughts with every step. Spotting the closed door on the right side of the bed I walked over. Surprisingly, the knob was out of reach of my paws but not my tails. Turning around so my back was facing the door, I reached out and twisted the handle carefully. With a click the door swung slowly outward dragging me with it. I landed on my rear hard making me yelp once more. Panicking that whoever was downstairs or nearby heard me, I bolted underneath the bed and stared at the door way. The wait was deafening as I didn’t want to take any chances with the human or humans that lived here. My courage to venture out from underneath returned. I crept to the open door keeping my ears open for anything that might sound hostile. Looking down the stairs prove to be a great improvement to my confidence as there was no signs that the human was home. But it also improved my confusion. I heard nothing that resembled a human cleaning. Nothing smelled like a human was cooking and on a closer sniff, I realized that the smell of human never been on this house. It just doesn’t make sense, my mind said back to me as I carefully went downstairs. Why does this house look so well taken care of? Could Bethany have used some of her magic to change it when I left? The bewilderment soon changed back to panic when the door was unlocked. Leaping back up the stairs I dove under the protectiveness of the bed’s underbelly. The door swung open and closed as voices trailed upward. “You said it had metal stuck in its shoulder?” I heard woman’s voice asked. It wasn’t Beth’s voice. This woman sounded unsure of what must have been told to her before entering. There was a brief moment of silence before the woman picked back up. “Well, I read that the griffins use traps that fling metal to impair the victim’s movement. Maybe this fox came from the griffin lands.” Okay there is only one woman on a cell phone, my thoughts comforted me as started to step out before what she said hit me. Griffins? Alive? With their own land? Thoughts of last night returned. Maybe I didn’t jump to the future, but to the past. Beth said that griffins died out centuries ago. But that doesn’t make sense. There would be no traces of cell phones back then. My debate ended as I heard another voice. It was soft, really soft. If I wasn’t in a state of panic, I could fall asleep on her voice. “Oh dear, she must be so lonely being so far from home. I hope she’s still asleep.” Two sets of foot falls came up the stairs yet they sounded different. I wasn’t sure then but it sounded like a hoofed animal stepping on wood. My theory was confirmed when from my hiding spot from underneath the bed, I saw hooves. Yellow and purple hooves. “Oh dear,” the softer of the two voices said as the yellow set ran toward the bed and disappeared. The sound of bird wings flapping came from the other side of the bed. “I think she ran away.” “It’s okay Fluttershy,” the first voice I heard say as it tried to comfort the second one. “Maybe it went home to its family.” I wish I could, my mind commented on the statement. With a shake of my head, I banished the thoughts and decided to get a clearer look at the two creatures that were talking to each other. The set of hooves that I connected to this ‘Fluttershy’ reappeared on the opposite side of the bed with a gently clopping sound. “I guess you’re right, Twilight,” her angel like voice said. Taking my chances, I peeked out to examine my captor. My breath froze as I sat there staring at Pegasus. Well… not really Pegasus. The winged horse of Greece myth was a snowy white and also was a stallion unlike this counterpart. As her voice suggested, this was clearly a mare but it looked different. The face seemed more human like than horse and that’s pushing similarities. Sadness was clearly written on the… horse’s… pony’s… mare Pegasus’s face. Whether it was the defined lips that curved downward or those huge eyes that stared at the wooden floor, I could tell she was sad to see me missing. Maybe when she’s alone I might come and say good bye, I comforted myself with a nod. Looking back up at the creature, I added, Beth never told be about this creature though. Does she even know about it? “Fluttershy,” ‘Twilight’ said in a lower tone that I almost missed. If it wasn’t for Fluttershy’s quick lift of her head to look back across the bed, I probably won’t have paid attention to it. After a brief silence, the mare looked down at me. At me. Her smile widen at the same rate her irises did. With a glance to the other side of the bed, I realized my tails was sticking out the other side and ‘Twilight’ saw them. I pulled myself underneath the bed as the yellow flying horse lowered her head and pushed her way under the frame. “Hi there,” she said in the loudest tone I ever heard her talk that day. It still sounded like a glass harp but was rich with joy. “I’m Fluttershy. Are you feeling better?” It took a slight twinge in my shoulder to remind me of the cast. I glance back and forth from it and the beaming face as the puzzle came together. She seemed to understand my confusion as she answered my unasked question, “Yes, I was the one that tended to your wounds. When Angel woke me up to show Mr. Patches carrying you, I knew I won’t rest until I did the best I could for you.” So that was the noise I heard before I passed out, I noted in hopes to find these two and thank them for rescuing me; if I could even identify them. “Wow,” I heard from the other side of the bed. ‘Twilight’ had lowered her head to peek underneath but didn’t press her head to get a closer look. “You were right Fluttershy, she’s beautiful.” My tails maneuvered around to cover the blush I felt growing for no reason. “Awwwww,” the flying creature of flight sighed as if she was watching puppies play with each other’s tails. “Someone is a little shy.” Her purple faced friend gave a quick amused look at her before returning back to me. I took offense to those words. Granted, when I made men fall in love with me, I offend used the blush as a way to get their attentions. But here I was getting compliments from two sentient beings of a horse-like species and was blushing like I wanted their hearts to melt. It didn’t take long for me to pick up from the giggles that during my mental fit, I was brushing my tails with my fore paws. After getting control of her mirth, Fluttershy reached out with a hoof and asked, “Can you please come out from underneath the bed? It’s awful dusty under there.” You had to say dust, didn’t you? I mentally sassed her as my nose started to twitch. I started to walk closer to the outstretched hoof with caution. Another twitch in my muzzle halted me just an inch from the horse-like hoof. My eyelids join in the twitching as I involuntarily drew breath. Achoo! I sneezed loudly while sending warmth from my nostrils. I heard a yelp through my closed sight followed by a scuffle. Opening my eyes I saw that my doctor had retreated from the bed. “Are you okay?” Twilight asked as I poked my head out from underneath the dusty underbelly. Fluttershy was shaking her hoof gingerly in the air as she replied, “I-I’m fine, Twilight. It’s just a little fire.” The interest and confusion reach a peak in the other mare’s voice. “Fire? She blew fire?!” “It was just a little flame,” my doctor said inspecting her hoof before looking at me. Fluttershy’s friend started talking some more at this point. Something about dragons and demons from a place called Tartarus. I happened to pay little attention to it as I had another thing to worry about. Scrambling, I pulled the rest of my body out and rushed over to the open door. My shoulder throbbed as I applied pressure but it did little to slow me down. Taking the steps two at a time, I landed on the lower floor with a thud, making the Persian cat sleeping by them jump up and hiss at me before curling back up on something. Right about that same time, the two strangely colored mares started their cadence of hoof falls. Finding the door outside was easy. Finding the stream that I was taken from was easier, it just happened to be right in front of the house. How I didn’t see the small foot bridge that spanned the creek under a full moon, I will never know. Finding where the hare found me, I quickly started back tracking. Following the trail led me back into the trees and to mighty oak that I woke up on. At first glance, nothing. I saw nothing next to the tree or between the roots. Running around the trunk proved just as useless. The orb I had in my pocket before I teleported wasn’t there. Panic swept over my body. I didn’t find the orb, I was still recovering, there are two sentient equines running up to me, and I was in someplace that only the Eight Immortals knows where. Scratch that last part. I don’t even think they know where this place is. Without my orb, I wasn’t able to go home, I wasn’t able to defend myself, and I wasn’t able to communicate with these equines let alone trying to blend in with them. I wasn’t able to see Bethany or keep my promise to my sister. I wasn’t able to do anything aside sit and cry.
Bad Hare DayI had thought that I had felt pain and loneliness back when I left my last sister. But then, without Beth, without the ability to talk, without the ability to get home or even to become mortal I truly felt alone. Well alone mentally. After being found by Fluttershy again, I was taken into her home. There she treated much differently than I had first expected. To say that I was being treated like a house pet would be an understatement. Granted she gave me food and water, but then came to her socializing. Despite her name, this ‘Fluttershy’ was quite the conversationalist with the other animals. I was sitting on the couch that was placed in the living room when a small patch of random woodland critters came bursting in in a panic. In matter of seconds, the mare Pegasus had them calmed down and was addressing each one of their problems. I even decided to follow her as she went to help young robins during their first flight. It was like watching a musician playing a number from some German writer from long ago. It was entertaining and entrancing. But as I said, I was mentally alone. Fluttershy did give me comfort but it was more like a little girl giving attention to her puppy; not the love that my sisters and I shared. It wasn’t even close to friendship me and Bethany had. This was just an owner and pet relationship and I was the pet. Sure I was able to show thanks with a nod and a smile but it didn’t feel right. As I said, I couldn’t say thank you or even hold a conversation with her. I couldn’t befriend this strange (yet cute) variation of Greek Mythology. I couldn’t care for her like she did for me. I was just a pet that she was taking care off. ****** “Oh dear, oh dear,” Fluttershy said in a panic as she hurried back and forth through her house. I was lying on the couch watching the scene as she ran around. “I’m so late. I’m so going to be late,” she continued as she came up to me and looked underneath her sofa. Finding nothing she backed up and ran over to the cabinet she checked four times before hand (should I start saying “before hoof”?). “Where did it I leave it?” That was when the white hare from that night came hopping in with a pair of bags held highly in his paws. My caretaker rushed over to him and said, “I’m sorry, Angel Bunny, but that’s not what I’m looking for,” before running over to a nightstand. ‘Angel Bunny’ didn’t take this rejection very well as he jump up to her and waved it in front of her face. Unsurprisingly, the pony told him that it wasn’t what she was looking for again. Surprisingly though was what Angel did next. The rabbit placed the bag down, hopped up and smacked her on the cheek before opening the bag up and pointed inside. Compelled by her pet’s reaction, the pegasus looked inside. Her panicked state switched to one of joy as she stared deeper inside it. With a cheer of happiness, she picked the bunny up and hugged him. “Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, Angel,” she exclaimed as she hovered in air just inches off the ground. Her levity was interrupted once more as the hare slapped her face once more (not has hard this time though). Realizing she was burning daylight, she set the bunny down, threw the bags on her back and took off out the door. I lowered my head hoping to sleep when she reentered. “Angel, can you please look after Tails while I’m gone?” she asked. ‘Tails’ is what the pegasus began to call me during my stay. I can see why she calls me that but to me it was an offensive name. To call me Tails because I had nine of them is just like me calling her Wingy because she’s a pegasus. With a nod, Angel pushed her out the door only for her to push herself back in. “Oh and make sure you eat as well.” With another nod, Angel pushed her through the door, closed it and locked it. Fluttershy continued to say things through the door before she finally took off. As the sound of flapping wings reached our ears, Angel sighed before looking up at me. I gave him my best “You had a rough day because, it’s written on your face” look. He seemed to read my expression well because he shrugged in return. I started to lower my head again when the urge to do something else rose. Getting up and jumping off the couch, I walked over to the hare that stood a clear head smaller than me. The dull thuds of my cast remained me of my condition, though it was more deadweight now. I knew this hare was the one that brought me here, so with respect I gave him a bow. When I looked up, I saw that he was gone. With a quick turn of my head I saw him pulling out a thick book. Letting curiosity get the better of me I walked over to inspect the tome. On the cover was the English word ‘Dictionary’. Thank you Bethany for teaching me English writing, I thought to myself. I did a double take. Why would a rabbit need a dictionary? Why does this pony have a dictionary? These ponies are literate? How do they even write? I sat there in a daze brushing a tail when I felt a slight jab in my side. Refocusing, I saw Angel point at a word with in the book. What. “What” was the word he picked out though once I had a good enough look at it; he flipped through the pages before stopping on another word. This one read “are”. He then flipped the pages once more and stopped on the word “you”. “What are you?” he was asking. Taking the book, I started flipping through the pages myself. It was harder (and longer) than Angel made it seem because I found myself missing each page I was looking for. When I finally got around to pointing out “nine-tail fox”, the bunny glare at me with a “No duh” look. I had to roll my eyes as I continued to flip through the pages. When I finally found the word “spirit” and showed it to him, he started poking my side. Giving him a look that could kill, he backed off, took the book and asked, “If you are a spirit, why I can touch you?” Pushing the book back to me I gave him my best explanation of my state. He seemed to doubt my telling of my body being nothing more than a vessel for my spirit but it was enough to stop him from further breaking my personal bubble. “You’re like a ghost possessing a body?” Angel asked afterwards. “Yes,” I replied using the book once more, “but possessing my body, understand?” The hare of the house thought it over before shaking his head. With a sigh I left him to his book and return to the couch which was became more inviting at that moment. But before I could let the embrace of slumber touch me, the hare was up on the couch slapping me. What?! I mentally shouted at him though all I could really do was glare. “Let’s play,” was what he showed to me. Yes, that’s right. This rabbit has the nerve to poke at me, question my existence and slap me awake and thinks I’m going to play with him. Of course not, so I closed the book and shook my head to convey my message. Ether Angel had his cotton tail in his eyes or just plain stupid because he opened the book and pointed out “Let’s play” again only for me to give him the same reply. This went on for about five more times before I had enough. Taking the book in my paws, I replied, “Fine, let’s play “keep the dictionary away from the annoying rabbit”.” He didn’t like choice in game but that’s what he gets for bugging me. Jumping down, I pranced away from my tormentor; book in mouth, with a trail of thuds following me. You’re probably thinking- “Why are you running when you have a injure leg?” My answer, simple! I’m a spirit and we are as light as air and I apply little if any pressure to the floor when I run. In fact the only reason why my foot falls are making any sounds at all is because of the cast. Jumping around the corner and into the kitchen, I quickly glanced back to see that my plan worked. Floppy Ears was trailing close by no more than five carrot lengths with the most displeased look I’ve ever seen on a rodent. If I didn’t have the book, I would be laughing at the irony of this subject matter. I rounded into the bathroom and took shelter in the tub. I heard my hunter enter the room with the pitter patter of his furry feet. I sat and waited for any sound of him leaving but none came. I gave him a rough three minutes before jumping out again and making a break back for the living room. I heard a whistle erupt from behind but paid little attention as I lead Angel up the stairs. Heading into the bedroom, I paused to check to see how close Cottontail was. It wasn’t long before I heard the pitter patter of footfalls coming up the stairs. This storm of feet though, sounded heavier. To my surprise, Angel called in reinforcements in the shape of two male badgers. That hare must have unlocked the door when we past it and allowed these two huge animals of strength to come in and block my only escape. He knew he had me cornered and with his wide grin of victory, he rubbed it into my face. I wasn’t going to give up that easily though. As he came for the book, I threw my head back with the book flying out of my teeth. With skill, I started to juggle the book among my tails as he dove back and forth, waving his tiny paws like a maniac. Finally he got the book and ceremonially stated “I win”. Chuckling, I leapt onto the bed to curl up. Yet that rabbit continue to harassed me by slapping my cheek and pointed out, “Let’s play some more” in that infernal book. Taking the book, I replied as nicely as I could. He didn’t take it well seeing how he whistled again, which made the badgers walked up, picked me up off the bed and dragged me outside where the dictionary was enjoying a brief bird’s eye view of the front yard just moments before. ****** When I first realized that I wasn’t anywhere near Beth’s home, I thought I would never be happy. Stop me if I start to sound like a broken record but I had nothing to care about in this world. No family, no friends, no nothing and it was the worst feeling a being can feel. But I’ve learned different spending time with these animals. They’re a wild bunch despite their domestic surroundings. Lead by Angel, the mob of squirrels, chipmunks and other rodents formed a massive game of tag though it looked like normal animals running from a predator. What made this game even more natural than it was supposed to be was when I got tagged. Due to my size compared to the others; I was a rather large target. But with every weakness, there was an advantage and it was one I exploited countless times. My longer strides allowed me to keep pace with even the fastest of mice. The only one that even seemed to match me in speed was Angel. It felt so good to once again run wild among the trees, not giving a care about the world around you. I had once thought that this game was only for little cubs and human children. But here I am, over three centuries old and chasing after my lucky footed tormentor like a newborn. There was one time as I ran after this squirrel where I just stopped dead in my tracks. In a brief moment, every critter was replaced with the smiling faces of my sisters. They were young, healthy, and full of life. I recognized the scene was one that took place back before we ever thought of the idea of becoming human. I must have zoned out for a while because when my mind had focused once more, I ended up staring into the concern eyes of my white hare caretaker. Looking around I noticed that aside from the bunny, all the other animals were out of reach. I knew that if he could talk, he would probably ask, “Are you okay?” Shaking my head, I raised my paw and tapped his forehead before I walked away toward the house. Guessing from the reaction that he gave, he must have figure out that I tagged him before quitting. Grinning through the tears, I mentally said, Got ya, to him. ****** I had retired back to the couch I had claimed as my territory for the remainder of my stay. None of the other animals seemed to mind it, not even the cat I scared yesterday. Speaking of the cat, I finally got a chance to examine it as I laid there. It had this fluffy coat that was as white as mine with this tiny purple bow on its head. While I couldn’t see its face at the moment, I was able to spot a collar of the same hue of the bow with what appeared to be jewels embedded into it. One would ask, “Why does any of this matter?” Well, as I was enjoying an afternoon snooze, Fluttershy returned. “Oh I must thank you again for looking after Opalescence while I was away, Fluttershy,” I heard first. This voice was proper, and if anything, more civilized than any other voices I heard so far. “It’s nothing really,” Fluttershy replied as she crossed the threshold. Next to my strange yellow caretaker was a unicorn. She stood tall and carried herself in a manner that seemed to fit the earlier voice. Every aspect about her also shouted upper crust beauty. “Oh please, darling,” this newcomer said, waving her hoof gently, “You know as much as I do that Opal doesn’t treat others so kindly. Once I get settled back in, I’ll start working on a new dress, just for you.” “You don’t have too, Rarity,” my hostess said as she went for a cat carrier. “But it’s very least I can do after you’ve spent a week taking care of her,” Rarity pointed out as she joined the pegasus, “Just look at yourself. I swear you as if you haven’t slept in days.” Giving Fluttershy a quick glance, I noticed traces of dark rings under her eyes. “I’m fine really,” she muttered with the cat carrier’s handle in her mouth. She placed down by the cat that was interested in something else. It looked up with a start as if it was in a trance. Then, without a meow, picked something up and walked inside its carrier. “My word,” the unicorn said flabbergasted, “She’s hardly this cooperative.” Fluttershy was also stunned by the cat’s behavior, “I usually have to talk to her once before she goes in.” “Did you do anything while I was away?” Rarity asked as the cat carrier started floating up onto her backside. I paid little attention to what Fluttershy said for I was more focused at Rarity’s glowing horn. Both it and the carrier had this aura around it. Taking a sniff in their direction, I realized that it was in fact magic. Not like mine by a mile and nothing like Bethany’s or even the dragon gods’ powers back home. But it was magic. “Well,” the unicorn said as my mind focused back into the conversation, “I’m sure once Opal gets back home, everything will be fine.” “I hope so,” the pegasus added as she lead her friend toward the door. “See you tomorrow.” “Tomorrow?” the white pony asked puzzled. After a moment to think it over she exclaimed, “Oh right, the spa!” With a smile, the pair departed each other’s company. After she closed the door, Fluttershy trotted up to me and asked, “Well how are you, Tails? Feeling better?” I nodded with a furry grin. As she smiled back at me, my cheerful expression darkened. Unknowingly to my change in moods, she went about her house humming a simple tune. So why did I react in such a way. She was covered in the stench of magic. It was a harmful enchantment, one that was meant to drain the victim of the life energy and it was mine.
