Chapters Death and Rebirth
Death and Rebirth
The RFI was fully charged, but the price had been so high to achieve this moment. Laroche and many of his men were dead, along with countless Militia and civilians. Nix, in her final moments, had damaged the Beast long enough to give Cole a chance to finish the job Kessler had bestowed upon him: the job he was meant to do.
Cole felt unsurprised at his decision; in order to save the world every Conduit, including himself, would have to die. Funny, how life works out sometimes. The Beast was before him, hunched over from Cole’s many attacks on the steps of the church. Kuo was next to him, her quick breathing an indication of her fear and pain.
“This is where it must end,” Cole muttered, holding the RFI in his hands. He looked up at the man formerly known as John White, now consumed by the power of the Beast and his own method of saving the world.
With weary resignation, Cole pumped his energy into the RFI, readying the final activation sequence. As he did so, he couldn’t help but smile at his situation. Here he was, about to activate a strange device, just like back in Empire City. Thousands would die and only a few would know the truth of what happened. Maybe he would be remembered as a hero this time, instead of a terrorist: he could only hope as much.
The RFI began to spark, signifying it was ready. As Cole let go, he felt a tug towards the Beast from the RFI. Energy seemed to be flowing off of the Beast and into the RFI as well, just like with the others back at Zeke’s rooftop hideout. “What the?” were his last thoughts as both the RFI and Cole shot towards the heart of the Beast. A tremendous explosion of sound and light emanated from the impact point, sending a beam into the atmosphere. All around the world Conduits died, every single one, and in the city of New Marais the detonation point was only the Amp with the RFI laying on top of it. The world had irrevocably changed.
Cole opened his eyes to see nothingness. Well, one could call it nothingness, but others would simply call it a lack of tangible material. He saw he was floating through an inky blackness, the only light coming from the electricity flowing over his body.
“Am I dead?” he asked, simply curious as to his current whereabouts. He didn’t feel anything, but then again he couldn’t be in heaven or hell: where was the light, or the flames even? The inky blackness soon gave way to a million points of light, each one brighter than a bolt of his most intense lightning.
Cole passed each one, amazed but speechless at the things he saw. Whole worlds, each unique in its own way, were spread out before him in numbers beyond counting, beyond imagining. As he drifted for what could have been either minutes or an eternity, he came to one particularly bright light.
“What is this?” he thought, reaching out to the pulsating light, his curiosity overriding any sense of fear. As if by magic, he felt a tug towards it; try as he might, he couldn’t resist the pull. He wasn’t even sure if he wanted to resist it: it had an almost maternal feel to it, like some kind of mother welcoming back a child. Upon making contact with the light, Cole felt his mind falter once more and slip away.
The first thing he noticed upon becoming conscious was a distinct lack of feeling in his fingers and toes. He could feel the soft grass beneath his palms, and strangely, his feet. “Where are my shoes?” he wondered, trying to stand up. Leaning backwards, he lost his sense of balance and landed on his back, the dirt pressing his wings into his back. “Wings?” Cole thought, his eyes shooting open. Turning his head, he saw a large pair of leathery wings poking out of his back. If he didn’t know better, he’d say they looked like a dragon’s.
“What in the hell?” he nearly shouted, getting back onto all fours. With a look of confusion, he saw he no longer had human fingers; instead he had a five-clawed hand, luckily with an opposable thumb-like claw. He looked up and saw his arm was covered in scales on top of the arm, but the underside was soft and furry. The same became apparent for the rest of his body; a hard scaly back and sides and a soft underbelly.
“Is this some kind of joke?” he said, stomping the ground with his back feet. In shock he spun around to see he no longer had feet, but a pair of long horse-like legs, each ending a large hoof. A long and muscular tail curled out from his hindquarters, with a double row of long spikes trailing along the end. He looked around to his back and saw the leathery wings were more spread out; they could easily hide him under their fold. Curiously, on his rump was a mark that couldn’t be natural: a pair of crossing lightning bolts on either side.
“I need to get a better look at myself,” he thought, walking over to a nearby pond. All around him mountains and pine forests stretched as far as he could see. Looking into the clear water’s edge, he found himself looking back at a dragon-like face. Strangely though, his snout was elongated but round, and a mane interspaced with spikes rose from the back of his neck. On the front of his forehead sat a large curved horn, similar to that of the unicorns Trish had been fond of when they were younger. Only he had never seen a unicorn with a horn shaped almost like a forward-facing claw of some sort. Seriously, it looked like a talon of a dinosaur was sprouting from his skull.
“Great,” he thought, opening his mouth to check his teeth. Normal-sized incisors backed up by rows of alternating sharp and dull teeth; definitely omnivorous. But how was he going to find any food in this body?
“So what in the hell am I?” he wondered, walking around the forest. A distant boom of thunder signified a storm was coming. Ever since he gained his powers water and he had a special relationship; it was always trying to kill him. It was likely the same with this new form, and there was no chance of him staying out in a storm.
“Better find some shelter,” he muttered, looking around. High above him, on a winding slope, sat a cave entrance. From his angle it seemed deep enough to shelter him from the storm, but what if it was occupied? Cole experimentally tested his powers: nothing came from his hands, but a bolt of lightning shot forth from his horn. “It’ll have to do,” he said, working his way up the forested slope.
Climbing over the very last ledge, he pulled himself into the cave. Deeper and deeper he went in, until the entrance was like a distant door letting in only a little light. All around him gemstones and rubies glittered in the faint light, and several glowing blue mushrooms provided a faint ambient light. “That clinches it; I am nowhere near any place on Earth I’ve ever heard of,” he muttered, curling up on the ground. Normally he would have just laid down flat on his back, but this position just felt right to him. With a rumble of thunder and the howling of the wind greeting his ears, he fell asleep.
Meanwhile, outside the cave...
The pack of timber wolves sought shelter from the storm, the howling winds hurting their ears. The pack leader sighted a cave off in the distance and soon picked up a strange trail. Even as the rain began to fall and dissolve the path, there was an unmistakable set of tracks leading to the cave entrance. However, the timber wolf had never smelled anything like it before; it was neither hydra, cockatrice, or even manticore in nature. It was something he had never smelled before, and he had been trekking through these forests and mountains his entire life.
Howling to his pack, he followed the trail up and into the cave, his fellow wolves right behind him. The slashing rain soon gave way to the cool dryness of the cave’s entrance. Following the trail, the timber wolf came upon a sleeping form. It had wings, a long muscular tail and spikes, but the softly glowing horn and the odd hindquarters ruled it out from being a dragon.
His pack was hungry and this sleeping creature would likely make a good meal. But before he could signal an attack the creature woke with a snort. Turning to face the pack, the sleepy animal seemed to spring into action, jumping up into a fighting stance.
The alpha timber wolf let out an attack howl, but as the pack surged forward, something changed. The air around the creature shimmered before a bolt of lightning shot forth from its horn. The bolt impacted a stalactite behind the pack, causing it to explode. With a yelp the pack began to retreat as more bolts flew from the creature’s horn. A resounding and blinding blast shot forth from the horn, much larger than the other bolts. As a wave of light the expanding wall of electricity pushed the pack out of the cave and sent them tumbling down the slope. Landing in the mud, the bruised but otherwise unhurt timber wolves ran off, howling every now and then.
“Good riddance,” Cole thought, pushing some of the debris to block the cave entrance. Those wolf-like creatures looked like they were made of tree bark and probably thought he’d make a good meal. Tough luck: much, much bigger things had tried making a meal of him before and in turn had failed every time. “Maybe now I can get some shuteye.” With that he went back to his spot, curled up and fell back asleep. Outside of the cave the noise of the wind drowned out the sounds of the howling of the scattered and frightened timber wolves.
In Cole’s wandering mind, his dreams gave way to nothing but confusion. He saw the rising sun and setting moon, alternating between two winged unicorns in a majestic castle on a cliff-side. Cities and towns, filled with multi-colored talking ponies dotted the landscape, each filled with colorful characters. One small town in particular held his mind in sway: a library located in a tree, with a small talking dragon assisting a colorful pony.
But then his dreams took a different turn. Off in the distance a statue displaying an amalgamation of different animals moved away from its stationary platform. The odd statue slithered through dense forests, murky swamps and over a set of high snow-covered mountains. It slithered into a deep ravine and seemed to sit there, waiting for something. “I guess I’ll have to take a look around in the morning,” Cole thought as his disembodied form drifted from dream to dream. The thunder continued outside, but for once his dreams silenced his mind to the troubled outside world.
Exploration
Exploration
A light dripping noise awoke Cole from his slumber. With a rumbling in his throat, he rose to his feet and shook off the weariness in his muscles, watching them flex beneath his hide. If he had been in good shape as a human, then it was safe to say his body has managed to transfer over that well-honed conditioning to this odd form. Realizing that admiring himself was a bit pointless, Cole looked up to see the water dripping from a hanging rock structure.
“Can’t remember if that’s a stalactite or stalagmite,” Cole thought, shuffling his way to the cave entrance. A light film was covering some of the stones, but whether it was a fungi or moss of some kind, he couldn’t say. Heaving and pushing the rubble out of the way, Cole walked out and was greeted by bright sunlight, the rays positively bearing down on the landscape all around him. The grass still had rivulets of water flowing down from the slopes, indicating the rain had not ceased until recently. Perhaps he had woken up only minutes after it had stopped.
Gingerly stepping down the slope so as not to lose his footing, Cole found himself once again in the middle of the forested area, passing through an oak savanna before reaching the thicker parts of a pine grove. Wandering through the lower branches with his wings tucked tightly to his sides, he came upon a strange sight. In the middle of the pine forest, an odd clearing came into view. Strangely, in the middle of the clearing was an unkempt cluster of trees, though neither pine nor oak in nature. Bright red apples hung from the branches, each looking rather delicious to a hungry... whatever he was. Seriously, was he a dragon or a winged unicorn of some kind?
Cole looked cautiously around from the edge of the thicker trees, making sure the coast was clear. It was evident he still carried with him at least some of his powers, but he wasn’t about to let himself walk into an ambush. After a few minutes of looking around, he decided the coast was clear and walked out, his head swiveling this way and that every so often. Reaching the cluster of apple trees, he took one last look around before he heard a growl. Actually, it wasn’t a growl: more of a grumble, and from its proximity, it was coming from his stomach.
“Well no kidding I’m hungry,” he said to himself, looking down at his stomach. Walking up to one of the trees, Cole found his arms could not quite reach the apples, even when he stood on his hooved hind legs. He fell a few times, but after a while he at least learned to balance properly with help from his tail: still, no luck getting an apple. Growing frustrated, he reached up towards a cluster of fruit with his head, balancing on his tail like it was a massive third- no, fifth - leg. Surprisingly, when he opened his mouth, his tongue shot out a good foot and wrapped around the apple. With a tugging motion he retracted his tongue, pulling the apple into his mouth.
“Delicious,” Cole thought, happily munching on the apple. He didn’t even care that a few leaves had come off with it: he was too hungry to care, and frankly the leaves tasted rather good as well. His digestive system must have been changed as well, since the last time he had eaten leaves off a tree had been from a dare by Zeke when they were younger: never again, he had told himself. Snatching another apple and thoughtfully chewing it, Cole looked around and saw the field had not been tended to in some time, with shrubs poking around here and there. It likely had been abandoned years if not decades ago, but for some reason the grass had been maintained to a reasonable length.
“I wonder what could be doing that.” Cole thought, reaching up and snaring another fruit: they sure were filling. Maybe he could find something else to eat: surely there were berries in this forest? Turning around to spit out some seeds, he saw a figure duck behind a bush, causing the leaves to rustle.
“Hello?” he called out, charging up his horn for a possible attack. “Who’s there?” For all he knew it could be those strange wood-covered wolves again, or maybe some other strange creature.
A bush rustled and a small goat walked out, quickly followed by a few more. Well, goat was a bit of a general term: these were clearly mountain goats, judging from their shaggy pelts and larger-than-average horns. “That explains why the grass is manageable,” Cole thought, sitting down and letting his charged-up horn power down. Walking along the edge, Cole noticed the sheep didn’t seem to care about him at all. “Maybe they don’t perceive me as a threat,” he thought, spying a few raspberry plants and eagerly plucking the ripe fruit. Seeing as he had nothing else to do, and as sheep weren’t exactly the best conversationalists, he soon grew antsy as he finished the last of the berries in the small patch. He looked back at the large pair of wings on his back, a thought forming in his head. “I wonder: do these wings actually work? It would seem to be a cruel trick of fate to have wings that cannot help you fly.”
With a series of experimental flapping and swishing motions, Cole found himself rise off the ground and hover in mid-air. “Why is it I couldn’t fly back in Empire City or New Marais, but I come here and all of a sudden I have wings?” he thought, soon flapping above the trees. It was rather effortless, to be truthful: nary a twitch and he was off the ground. “I mean, Kessler could practically teleport, and both Kuo and Nix could fly. Hell, even that woman John unleashed back in the clinic could fly. But no: all I could do was hover and glide certain distances. It would certainly have been easier to move around the city if I could just leap up and soar away.” Eventually coming over the tops of the trees, he let the breezes fill his wings, pushing him around the area like an overgrown kite.
“Well, at least I still have some of my powers,” Cole thought to himself, experimentally adjusting the spread of his wings. The bolts from his horn the night before meant he could still discharge electricity, but to what degree? Buzzing the tree tops, he soon found the necessary movements for speeding up, slowing down and turning, among other various moves. Along with that, he sent out a few varied zaps from his large horn: short bursts, streams and large blasts f lightning accompanied his thoughts. As his method of discharge was so much closer to his brain and so more connected to his body, it would seem he merely had to think what kind of shock or bolt he wanted to expel from his horn. Frankly, it was an overall improvement over his old body’s need for his hands to discharge the electricity.
“I wonder if I can do anything else,” he thought, landing back in the apple tree meadow. Feeling a bit tired, he opened his mouth to yawn. At the same time, he felt a burp come from his stomach. But what came out was no simple gas bubble; a burst of blue fire shot out, sending a plume several feet into the air.
Cole quickly clasped his pseudo-hand over his mouth. Well, it was not so much a mouth as more of a snout, but it didn’t matter: he had just breathed fire. “Don’t want to burn the whole place down,” he thought. Even with the rain storm the place could still burn like crazy; pine sap and needles had that kind of quality.
“I better look for some different food,” he thought, making his way through the meadow and out into the forest. Berries and apples were good and all, but maybe there was something else out there he could munch on: like some nuts or mushrooms. For some reason, he didn’t feel like killing an animal: it just felt odd in this body. Of course, that could be from the confusion of being in a new place and in a new body: highly understandable. Ahead of him the small goat herd from before bleated as they made a path through the underbrush and up onto the mountainsides.
“At least that explains why those wolf-like things haven’t eaten them all yet,” Cole thought, wading up to a small brook. Up in these mountains water seemed to be everywhere, and he’d especially have to be careful. Walking along the banks, he looked over his shoulder to make sure he was alone and saw nobody was following him: a good sign. He turned back just in time to walk right into an exposed log. Losing his balance, Cole fell off the embankment and rolled into the stream.
“This is it,” he thought as his body hit the water. “I am so dead.”
With a large splash he plummeted into the icy cold brook, the water sloshing over his back. He opened his eyes to see no lightning sparking anywhere or a sense of pain. “What in the world?” he thought, quickly scampering out of the water. “How come I didn’t short out?” He looked down at his wet underside, his fur matted down by the sudden submergence and reemergence. He and water had become enemies since the day he had received his powers, so why was this such an extraordinarily fortunate change of events for him? “Maybe this body doesn't have the same limitations as my old one,” he muttered. With cautious steps he made his way back into the water and stood there, feeling the coolness seep into his skin.
“Ah,” he sighed in pleasure, lowering his body into the water until only his head was visible: even with his wings tucked to his sides, he could feel the water rushing over all of him. “I haven’t had a bath since before the Ray Sphere.” There he sat for a while, noticing how he wasn't even getting that cold: perhaps this body was also more tolerant of the elements? It would make sense: all of the legends he had heard in English class had noted that dragons usually had impenetrable hides, with the weakest spots usually being the eyes and underbelly. Then again, he was nothing like the dragons he had heard of: maybe he was some kind of hybrid or something? Dragons didn't exactly have fur or hooves, unless you counted all those weird creatures from the mythological textbooks Trish had been fond of when they were younger.
Soon after, Cole grew bored once more, having waded through the stream and eaten a few walnuts strewn along a bank: easy enough to eat, as he first roasted them with his fire breath. Leaving the stream behind, he made his way up onto another bank and shook off the excess water like a dog, the droplets flying this way and that. Looking around, he saw the small stream led out of the woods and into what could be a new area. Walking along, he found it soon joined a larger and larger series of brooks, eventually forming a large river that cascaded over boulders and old logs alike.
“I wonder where this could lead?” he thought, the roaring of the water drowning out pretty much all other noise. Making his way through the trees, he came upon a small waterfall. Opening his wings, Cole gently glided down alongside the rushing water, finally coming to a stop near an opening. It would seem the waterfall continued as another river through a dark and mixed forest.
“There should be some shelter for me eventually,” he thought, walking along the river. “I could always fly back to that cave, but it seems nicer here.” Maybe it had been the blue glowing mushrooms: those had been weird enough to see, never mind sleep by. So through the woods he traveled, avoiding several deep pitfalls and thick underbrush. Finally coming to a break in the tree line, he saw off in the distance a winding road working through long groves of trees.
“A road?” he thought, stepping out onto it. Roads do not suddenly appear out of nothingness: there were no road plants that grew roads in the right conditions, and there were no such thing as road-making squirrels or birds. “If there is a road, then somebody must have built it. That at least means there is an intelligent form of life in this odd world.” With that thought in mind he started to walk down the right side, searching for the kind that created the dirt road. It was densely packed beneath his feet though soft enough that he left slight tracks as he made his way along its route.
The slightly damp road made his footsteps awfully silent. A slight rustling of the leaves meant he had entered a natural wind corridor, though thankfully it didn't seem too blustery that day. He could hear something, but over the leaves, it was nothing more than the barest of sounds. It grew louder, and yet Cole had no idea what it was. He stopped, intent of finding out the source of the noise. Hearing a series of increasingly close creaks, Cole turned in time to see a carriage barreling down on him.
“Look out!” shouted a colorful pony atop the carriage, but the warning proved to be too late. With a smash the carriage clipped Cole, sending him flying into a tree. Smashing into the tree head first, Cole felt his concentration flutter and finally begin to slip away, leaving him still somewhat conscious. That, however, was not going to last for long.
The last thing he heard were two pairs of footsteps and a young boy’s voice say: “Oh my gosh! Is it hurt? Is it... What is it, Twilight?”
The other replied: “I- I’m not sure, Spike. We’d best bring it to the Ponyville Hospital. I’ll levitate it onto the carriage: move my things out of the way, please.”
Chapter Three
First Contact
They say that dreams are windows into the mind, and that we can learn a bit about ourselves from them if we can decipher their meaning. Still, when a dream is undecipherable, then what is one supposed to do but just go along with it? A somewhat dreamless sleep filtered through Cole’s brain, with images flashing through his mind in no coherent sequence at all. An apple orchard, an exploding volcano, a balloon carrying baskets of muffins: it was all so...random. It had to be chaos: how else could he imagine chocolate rain and ballerina bison?
With a grunt Cole shook off the last vestiges of unconsciousness and slowly opened his eyes, reaching up and wiping away the grime coating his outer eyelids. All around him a whispering group of multi-colored ponies stood, looking at each other as he himself looked around. Glancing about, Cole saw several white curtains and felt an overall sense of cleanliness: he was in a hospital of some kind. Well, as close to a hospital as one could get, given the circumstances: there were colorful ponies, after all.
“Shush, he’s waking up,” someone said. Oh, so they talked, too: maybe he was still delusional from that carriage crashing into him. Still, as if by magic, the dull chatter in the room ceased when they noticed his wakefulness, and every eye turned to him. Well, at least one per pony: a winged one seemed to be focusing on something on the other side of the room.
“Where am I?” Cole grunted, shifting his head to look around. “What happened?” He had to say something, though he did so with a bit of cautiousness: did they speak the same language as he did, even though he understood what they had said? Could he have misunderstood a language that simply sounded like English, but meant something completely different?
A purplish unicorn walked to the front of the group, followed by what seemed to be a small... purple dragon. Why were so many things here so many odd colors? “You were in an accident,” the unicorn said, seeming both concerned and intrigued by his appearance. “Our carriage was going down a hill and the brakes shattered on a bounce. You were lucky to survive the impact, never mind recover so quickly.”
Cole let out a small cough. “I've survived far worse,” he said, feeling better by the minute as his powers went to work on his body. Judging from the amount of pain he still felt, it would still take a while longer than a bullet wound like on Earth. Then again, if he had to guess, he was quite a bit larger than back on Earth and thus he had more “stuff” to heal on the inside.
“Who exactly are you?” the small dragon asked, looking up at Cole with a curious expression. Cole blinked; these were the same two from before. Their names were -he wracked his brains- Twilight something and Spike. No last name for the dragon: perhaps he simply didn’t have one?
“My name is Cole,” he said, pulling one of his arms from under the covers and holding it out for the small dragon to shake. “Cole MacGrath, at your service.”
The small dragon named Spike shook his hand, the small arm barely reaching up to Cole. “I’m Spike, and this here is Twilight Sparkle,” he said, gesturing to the purplish unicorn.
“Pleased to meet you,” Cole said, unsure as to why fate had placed him in this place. This was like something out of a bizarre fantasy world, one he doubted anyone he knew could imagine up. Perhaps he was being punished for his past decisions.
“I’ve read all about kirins before, but I never thought I’d see one,” she said, walking around his hospital bed while looking him over. It was slightly unnerving, as if she were undressing his body with her eyes. Not in a fun way, either: anatomically, not physically. “It is said you are the descendant of a cross between a dragon and a pony of some kind, likely a unicorn.”
“So that’s what I am; a kirin,” Cole thought, glad one mystery was solved. “So where am I?” he asked, trying to find the solution to another conundrum.
“You are in the hospital in Ponyville,” Twilight said in a concerned manner. “Since we’ve never seen someone like you before, we already contacted Princess Celestia.” She grimaced slightly at the mention of never seeing him before: maybe something had happened similarly with an outsider that hadn’t gone so well? “We’re sorry about the whole thing.”
“That’s quite all right, Miss Sparkle: no real harm done,” Cole replied. He was silent for a second or two, a thought entering his head on something she had mentioned. “You people, I mean, ponies have royalty?” Cole asked, somewhat surprised when he managed to piece the picture together as a whole. There was still royalty back on Earth all across the planet, but it was nowhere near as prevalent as it had been. Royalty among animals, even anthropomorphic, was something he had never considered, besides queen bees and ants and all that.
“Do you not have royalty from where you come from?” a white unicorn asked, her purple mane curled into a rather fashionable twirl. “They are amongst the most sought-after social companions, as well as great friends when you get to know them.”
“No, not really,” Cole said, knowing he’d have to tread carefully around the topic of governance in this place: any of his old world’s ideas of ruling bodies might cause confusion or even change. “Where I come from, the majority our leaders are elected by the citizens. Other places have royalty, but many are not the heads of the country.”
“What an odd form of government,” Twilight Sparkle said, looking both puzzled and intrigued. Several other ponies came to the front of the group, including a pale yellowish pegasus who was looking at the ground.
“Just who are all of you?” Cole asked, sitting up straighter and laying back on the pillow so he was more exposed. “Not that it’s really important, but I’d just like to know, for posterity’s sake.” The yellowish pegasus shied away, as if startled by his appearance.
“Well, as you know I’m Twilight Sparkle,” the purple unicorn said. “These are my friends. Meet Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie.” As she said each name, she pointed to a different equine: a pegasus with a rainbow-colored mane, the yellowish pegasus, an orangish-looking pony, the white unicorn and a bouncing pink pony.
“I need to start preparing your recovery party,” Pinkie Pie said, bouncing in place as she continued to ramble on about balloons and cake and some other things. With a great big smile and a quick motion she left the room, soon followed by most of the other ponies: it seemed the novelty of a strange visitor had worn off and they were likely going back to work or something. Soon, only the doctor, Twilight Sparkle and her other friends were left in Cole’s room.
“I was wondering if you would show me around,” Cole said, getting out of bed as his powers finished healing him. Thankfully that aspect of his Conduit abilities still held true in this world: rapid healing, but thankfully h didn’t need a source of electricity to do so anymore.
“I thought you were injured,” the yellow pegasus called Fluttershy said, her voice barely above a whisper in volume. Well, at least now he could see why her name was Fluttershy: she was certainly the shyest-looking pony he had ever seen. Then again, Cole hadn’t been here long and didn’t really know any other ponies, but still...
“Nah,” Cole said, stretching as he walked away from the bed. “I have an increased rate of healing compared to others.” He had a feeling none of them would know a thing about conduits, so he’d just let them assume it was magic or something similar that allowed him to do this. With a yawn he stretched out his wings, easily spreading the width of two hospital beds.
“How is that?” Twilight asked, seeming interested at Cole’s explanation. Before Cole could respond with a more truthful, and by all means detailed answer, a pony came running into the room, screaming. “Twilight,” she said, almost out of breathe. “A hydra is coming towards the town!” The ponies looked at each other, nodded and dashed out of the room. Now why in the world would they do that? Weren’t hydras terribly monstrous creatures that could easily eat the likes of these ponies? Cole, curious as to what was going on and a bit concerned for his caregivers, trotted out of the room after them, feeling much better already.
Outside the hospital, Cole saw the group of ponies running over a distant bridge. “They are fast,” Cole said, leaping into the air. “I’ll have to catch up quick if things go south.” Pumping his wings, he quickly caught up with the ponies as they came to a stop near a group of tall trees. The ground was shaking with every blow from the hidden hydra’s feet, though they couldn’t see it: it knew it had been spotted and was likely approaching to ambush some unsuspecting pony. “So where is this hydra?” he asked in an almost bored voice, noticing the shock on the ponies’ faces as they saw him. Truth be told, he did feel a bit excited, but as to what he was going to do, he had absolutely no idea.
“How did you catch up so quickly?” the one called Rainbow Dash called out, her voice a mixture of surprise and awe.
“I flew, Miss Dash,” Cole said simply. Looking up, he saw a monstrous shape burst through the trees; the hydra. Cole blinked in surprise: he hadn’t expected that to happen so fast. Below him the ponies scattered, with Twilight and Rarity firing beams of what could only be magic from their horns. None of it seemed to be doing anything, and then out of the blue Cole felt the urge to burp: when he did the plume of fire shot out and singed the end of the one of the head’s chins. With a roar the creature’s multiple heads swung towards the flying kirin, intent on eating him: partly due to hunger and partly due to revenge.
Cole ducked in surprise, swooping this way and that to avoid the four-headed creature’s jaws. Its growls and roars grew in intensity as it missed the flying creature that had burned it. Stamping its feet in rage, it began to trample everything under it, which almost included Rarity, if it had not been for the quick actions of Rainbow Dash to swoop her out of the way. The monstrous creature turned towards Ponyville, letting loose another roar as it lumbered forward: one swipe of it’s tail managed to connect with Cole and sent him spiraling up into the air. It was like getting hit with a tree trunk, but as with all his endeavors, whatever didn’t kill Cole only made him stronger. Now, not only was he stronger, but now he was mad.
“I don’t think so, bub,” Cole said, his horn glowing a bright blue. With a blast he sent out several strands of lightning, each arcing over the head of the hydra like a Tesla coil. It wasn’t much, but it must have been more than enough to get the message across that Cole would be too difficult to eat and Ponyville would not be worth the effort. With howls of anger and pain, the monstrous beast turned tail and ran back the way it came, crashing through trees as it retreated to its hiding place in the swampy biomes of the lower hills. It soon vanished completely out of sight, and a little while after that its roars faded out of earshot. Considering Cole's hearing was much, much greater what it had been as a human, the monster must have been far away indeed.
“Wow,” the pony called Applejack said as Cole landed near them: the rest had gathered and were staring at the kirin in abject awe. “I ain’t never seen ah creature that could do that before. Are you sure yer a kirin and not some sorta weather creature?”
“How in Equestria can you shoot lightning?” Twilight asked, nearly bouncing with enthusiasm as her shock wore off from the enounter. “I’ve read so many books and poured over so many scrolls, and power like that has never been displayed by anyone but the princesses and other alicorns! Are you related to them some way?”
“No,” Cole said, noticing the looks the unicorn named Rarity and Spike the dragon were giving him. They seemed both intrigued and a bit scared, seeing as this newcomer to the area was suddenly shooting bolts of lightning from his horn. Completely understandable: people back in New Marais and Empire City had reacted the same, and Cole couldn’t blame them for it. “When I mean I’m not from here, I mean I’m not of this world. I come from a place I’m sure none of you have ever heard of, never mind seen.”
“What in tarnation are ya talkin’ about?” Applejack asked, a confused look on her face. “Not from this world? Then where in the hay are ya from?” The others nodded in agreement, also looking nonplussed at his statement of “not of this world”.
“I’ll explain everything, but can we talk somewhere else?” Cole asked, noticing the sun slipping in the sky. He must have been out for quite a while: he must have been in that deep sleep for at least a whole day, if not more. Besides, who knows what else that hydra might have scared up in it’s rampage? Cole could think of those wood-like wolves patrolling the darker forest: he sincerely didn’t want to fight again, simply because he just didn’t want to. No more reason than that, and he wasn't willing to put these ponies in danger.
“Come to the library,” Twilight Sparkle said, pointing to an odd-looking tree in the middle of the town. “I’ll be busy writing a letter to Celestia: in the meantime, Fluttershy here can... where is Fluttershy?”
“Up here,” a soft voice called out. Everyone looked up to see the yellow pegasus clinging to a large branch high in a tree, one that had thankfully not been damaged by the hydra.
“Fluttershy, please come down from there: it’s getting late,” Twilight called out. “We’ve all got other things to do and you’re headed in that direction anyway: could be a dear and please show Cole the way to the library?”
The yellow pegasus squeaked slightly, as if out of embarrassment, but soon beckoned Cole to follow her as she fluttered down from her hiding spot in the tree. For a split second, Cole saw something Trish-like in her doe eyes, but it disappeared as soon as it came. Maybe it was a way of his brain trying to connect his old life to this one, but it was unwelcome in his present state: he was in a whole new world, and he had left the old one behind. As Cole walked away, he couldn’t help but feel there was more to this world than met the eye, never mind the magic, monsters, and talking ponies. Who would have thought he’d have ever found himself in such a place?
Chapter Four
Introductions and a Rescue
Cole walked quietly with Fluttershy along the edge of the forest, the only noise the sound of their steps. Out of the corner of his eye, Cole could see the smaller pegasus furtively glance up at him every now and then. It wasn’t out of morbid curiosity: Cole could have told if it was. No, it was more... shy intrigue, as if she was interested but unsure of what to say or do about it.
“Is there something wrong?” Cole asked, turning to face the pegasus.
Fluttershy let out a small squeak, but quickly recovered from the sudden question. “I was just wondering how you can... do what you do. You know, your power.” Her soft voice was barely an octave above a whisper.
Cole let out a small chuckle. “That is a rather long story, and I don’t think I have the time to tell you now. Suffice to say, it was a long and painful road to be where I am today, and I have suffered for it.” he didn't want to tell her about the life-changing decisions he had had to make: the ones who had cost him friends and loved ones.
Fluttershy’s eyes widened at his comment about suffering. “But how could you suffer? Equestria is such a peaceful land.” Her soft voice was not unlike an early morning breeze.
Cole looked into her eyes as he approached the door to the library. “I’m not from Equestria, or anywhere else you may have heard of. Where I come from, there is no true harmony and friendship is rare.” The pegasus didn't say anything after that.
Reaching the library door, Cole placed his hand-like claw on the door handle and turned to Fluttershy. “If I have any free time, I’ll tell you all about where I’m from.”
Cole opened the door and bid the pegasus farewell, closing the door behind him. As he walked into the tree-like building, the first thing he noticed was the sheer amount of literature in the building.
“Smells a bit like mold,” Cole thought as he wandered past a bookshelf. Looking down, he saw on particular book on top of a large stack of more books. It said “The Complete History of Equestria”.
“Might as well read it,” he thought. Picking it up, he sat down on his haunches and opened it with his claw-like hands. Thankfully he didn’t have actual talons, or else he might have torn the thing apart. Carefully turning the introduction page over, he began to read.
An hour later...
Twilight walked in to the library, feeling rather exhausted. She had just finished the letter to Celestia when a whole bunch of ponies pelted her with questions about the kirin in town. Truthfully, she didn’t know anything else about him, but she was intent on finding out. Spike was busy helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders with something and Twilight felt like she needed something to eat.
Opening her fridge, she picked out a dandelion sandwich Spike had made for her earlier. Quietly munching it, she swore she heard a snort upstairs.
“Oh,” she thought, remembering she had told Cole to stay at the library. “That must be him.” Finishing her sandwich, she walked up the stairs to see Cole’s wings folded over his body. A sigh rumbled from his throat: he had fallen asleep.
Walking around the sleeping figure, Twilight quietly summoned a pad of parchment and a quill. “Large wings; suitable for extended flight,” she muttered, looking over the mysterious kirin. “Long tail; perfect for balance.”
She walked around to his front, the quill refilling itself after writing down what she said. “Dragon-like front arms: equine hind legs. Large eyes signify enhanced vision and likely the ability to see in the dark.” She carefully moved a wing to the side to see the rest of his head.
“Horn on head similar to that of a unicorn, but exudes lightning instead of magic: must investigate further,” she muttered, scribbling in her notes as fast as she could. “Row of spines along back are likely for protection, but the underbelly seems soft and covered with fur.” She carefully lifted up a corner of his mouth, exposing his teeth.
“Sharp incisors indicate a not-entirely vegetarian diet,” Twilight muttered, unsure whether to feel afraid or intrigued. “Molars indicate plant consumption as well: likely an omnivore. Unknown if consumption of jewels and other precious minerals is possible: must investigate in the future.”
Finishing with her notes, Twilight gingerly walked up to her room and went to bed.
The next morning...
Twilight awoke to find something missing from her house/library. Looking around, she realized it was Cole that was missing.
“Oh boy,” she thought as she ran past Spike’s sleeping form. She couldn’t wake him up: he had been up all night and deserved some rest. Running outside, Twilight enabled a locator spell and followed her horn on the path of the mysterious missing kirin. Winding through the streets, she eventually found a footprint leading into the forest.
“Why would he go in there?” she wondered, trotting into the tree line. Within a few minutes, she spotted a dark form disappear behind a cluster of trees. Leaping over a few bushes, she landed in time to see a bolt of lightning fly through the air and impact a rock, blackening it. Another one soon followed, striking the rock in the same place. For a second, it seemed as though Cole couldn’t see Twilight.
“Cole?” she called out, trying not to sound awed by his lightning. It still amazed her that he could wield it so effortlessly and yet so accurately. She saw him turn his head and the frown of concentration disappeared.
“Oh, hi Twilight,” he said, walking up to her. “I was just practicing my powers: it never pays to get rusty.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight said, not sure what he meant by ‘rusty’.
“If I don’t keep up the practice, I will slowly but surely lose skill in that area,” Cole said, somewhat puzzled by her question: wasn’t it obvious? “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some blasts to work on.” With that, he leaped into the air and flew high above the canopy of the forest, almost instantly disappearing from view.
Twilight, not exactly wanting to miss what was sure to be an opportune time to study the kirin, ran out of the woods in time to see a ring of lightning fly through the air. Within seconds it slowly disappeared, likely dissolving from the air as it lost energy.
“How do you do that?” she called up to the circling kirin, not sure if he could hear her. Apparently he did, as he soon came to a gentle stop on the grass, his large wings folding to his sides.
“I have powers because I was given them, albeit against my will,” Cole said, feeling as though too much information might make the pony afraid of him. “I was not always like this, you know: my old body was like nothing I’ve seen here, nor like anything described in any of your books.”
A million questions raced through Twilight’s mind, but for now she was content to simply listen. It seemed this kirin was not entirely what he appeared to be. She would have to write a letter to Celestia again: twice in two days might seem weird to others, but Twilight knew Celestia must hear of this strange creature.
“Try me,” she said, sitting down on the grass and taking a small journal out from her pack. Cole sat down as well with a small sigh and looked down at the ground, drawing small circles with his claws.
“Where I come from, there is no magic,” he said, drawing a crude representation of Earth. “We have science and technology, but some of it is far more advanced than many of us were lead to believe. I lived in a large city, with buildings that seemed to touch the sky. There was not much of what I would call nature in the city: a few parks were all the greenery there was.”
Twilight scribbled furiously in her journal, intent on not letting a single bit of data slip by her. In the back of her mind, her excitement reached a peak: she could publish a book on this! To think: sentient life outside of Equestria where there was no magic and things were so very different. It was like nothing any of her books had ever described!
“My kind was something similar to what you know as a monkey,” Cole continued, drawing a crude picture of a human. “We lacked tails, walked upright and had larger brains than our counterparts, which eventually lead us to develop culture. With this, we spread across our world, and over time used our five-fingered hands and brains to change everything.”
He looked down at a small circle he drew: the Ray Sphere. “I was a courier, a simple bike messenger: I could never have known the path laid out before me.” His voice had grown soft and a bit strained as if recalling a painful memory.
Twilight’s brow was so furrowed with concentrating on her magical writing she was surprised when her quill ran out of ink. Dipping it quickly again in her little ink pot, she looked up to see Cole had stopped; his head was looking back into the forest.
“What is it?” she said, noticing the strange look on his face. He looked almost... tense.
“What does your friend Fluttershy do?” he said, getting up on all fours.
“She takes care of animals: why?” Twilight asked, looking back over her shoulder.
“I heard a scream: it sounded like her voice,” he said, starting to run towards the forest.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Twilight said, quickly following him and leaving behind her writing supplies. All of a sudden, a distant echo came through the tree line. It was a scream alright, and it was definitely that of Fluttershy. Twilight’s eyes widened in shock as Cole picked up the pace: why was Fluttershy screaming?
“We have to hurry,” Cole said, leaping into the air and flying into the sky. He had barely flown out of sight before he dove into the forest amidst a chorus of barking and howling.
Twilight ran to the edge of a clearing in the forest and saw something that made her blood run cold: Fluttershy trapped by a pack of snarling timber wolves. There were cuts all over her wings and blood was running from a bite mark on her rump. She was backed against a large boulder, with a single wolf climbing up over the edge.
“Fluttershy!” she called out, preparing to blast the bark-laden wolf with a burst of magic. Before she could, the howling creature leaped into the air, falling straight for the injured pegasus. As the glistening wooden fangs seemed to sprout from the creature’s open maw, a blast of light smashed into it, sending it careening across the clearing and into a tree: it exploded. Twilight looked over to see Cole charging forward, another beam of light emanating from his horn. His face was contorted into something akin to fury and intense concentration.
The timber wolves turned at the sight of their flying pack member and howled with fury upon its disintegration. As one large mass they charged the kirin, regardless of the bright glowing emanating from his horn. Almost instantaneously the pack and Cole leaped into the air, colliding about three feet off the ground. From there, it descended into madness.
A bolt flew out from Cole’s horn and struck a wolf, sending it flying into another. He turned in time to feel a wolf sink its jaws into his shoulder. Roaring in pain, Cole reached down and clamped his jaws on the neck of the wolf, causing it to release its hold. With a great heave he tossed the wooden wolf high into the air, the journey ending when a tree branch arrested its descent.
Cole spun quickly, narrowly avoiding a lunge for his exposed throat. Like a great bear, he swiped the timber wolf away with his hand, electricity crackling all over it. Another leaped at him from behind: raising his tail, Cole smashed it downwards, driving the bark-laden creature into the soft ground. It’s parts flew everywhere, so great was the force of such a hammer blow.
In the midst of the fighting, Twilight rushed over to her injured friend, noticing the blood had pooled by her back legs. “Fluttershy, are you all right?” she asked, retrieving a large bandage from her pack. She always carried them around, but this was the first time she had actually needed to use one.
Fluttershy was shivering: whether from blood loss or fear, Twilight did not know. “W-Why is h-he here?” she said, looking over at Cole as he fought the wolves. “H-How did y-you find m-me?”
“He heard your scream: we came as quickly as we could,” the unicorn said, dabbing some of the blood off the wings of the pegasus. “We need to get you to the hospital: why were you out here?”
The pegasus winced at Twilight’s ministrations. “I-I was coming to h-help a family of s-s-squirrels who needed a n-new nest after t-that storm a f-few days ago,” she said, looking back at her unicorn friend. “They c-came out of n-nowhere: t-the first wolf b-bit my flank. I p-panicked and k-kicked him a-away: it hurts so bad,” she said, more tears forming in her already glistening eyes. Twilight continued to dab the wound as best she could, but if her friend didn’t get the help she needed, there could be problems with her leg for the rest of her life.
Cole had to admit he wasn’t doing as well as he could have been: some of his more dangerous powers were too powerful to use while the ponies were so close. He was winning, but still the pack came, biting and clawing at every available bit of his flesh. With a blast of his horn, Cole threw the creatures off of him. Standing his ground, he looked to see the creatures flee into the forest, supporting wounded comrades on their backs. There were bits and pieces of the wooden creatures scattered all over the area, signifying the pack would likely not return after having lost so many of their kin. He turned back to the two ponies before slumping over in pain: even with his healing abilities, he could still bleed. The puddles and splatters all over the ground were a testament to that.
“Are you all right?” he asked, limping his way to the pair of ponies while ignoring his own stinging pain. Cole felt his wounds begin to heal, but there was still the problem of getting the injured pegasus out of the forest; the wolves might try to attack again, or something worse could come along, like a hydra. In his current state of healing, he would be highly vulnerable to a larger or more powerful creature: Twilight and Fluttershy even more so.
“What about y-you?” the woozy pegasus said, taking a painful step forward. Twilight continued to administer to her wounds the best she could, but the bandage could only do so much.
“I’ll be fine: we need to get you out of here,” Cole said, looking at Twilight. “Can you get out of here safely?”
“I can teleport out of here, but I’m not sure Fluttershy can travel in her condition,” Twilight said, unsure what the kirin was thinking. “I can’t just leave her here: she needs to go to the hospital, and if I teleport her in this condition, she could lose a lot of blood in the No-Space Dimension through which teleporters travel.”
“I’ll take care of that,” Cole said softly. With a gentle glow emanating from his horn, he tapped a weak but still surprised Fluttershy on the head. An instance of binding light faded to reveal an unharmed pegasus; the blood and wounds gone as if they had never been there.
“How did you do that?” Twilight gasped, both shocked and overcome with happiness that her friend was no longer hurt. Fluttershy could only look up into Cole’s eyes and blink in astonishment.
“She is still weak: I’ll carry her out of here,” Cole said. Gingerly and with a grace that exemplified her nature, a careful Fluttershy pulled herself into Cole’s outstretched arms. With a great gust of wind, Cole flew up into the air and disappeared over the treetops.
Twilight, still a bit shocked, teleported out of the woods and back to where her notes were: she needed to write to Celestia immediately.
As Cole flew over the trees, Fluttershy snuggled into his chest, almost entirely captivated by the sight of the strong and not-unhandsome kirin carrying her to safety. As it was, she was unsure of the feelings she was experiencing. It wasn’t fear or sadness: it was something so close to happiness she could barely recognize it was different. She would have to ask her friends after she got to the hospital: they would surely know.
View Online
Princess of the Night, Meet the Prince of Lightning
Chapter Six
Princess of the Night, Meet the Prince of Lightning
Cole was absolutely sure he no longer wanted Twilight to be the only one to talk to him. Sure, she was nice and all, but if she was his only company, he would surely go mad after only a week.
“Are you quite done?” he asked as she rambled on about proper Canterlot etiquette and socializing with royalty. “I realize you’re trying to help, but I can’t know all of this right now.”
Twilight sighed: maybe it was best if Cole did just ‘wing it’, as he certainly wasn’t going to remember everything she was telling him. “Just be polite and I’m sure you’ll do fine,” she said through a somewhat forced smile. “Just don’t ask about Nightmare Moon: that’s history you don’t want to know.”
“Well, okay,” Cole said, unsure why the unicorn even mentioned it if she didn’t want him to talk about it. “So do I just walk in the front doors or introduce myself to the guards?”
Twilight winced: things might not go as well if he thought that. “You must introduce yourself: if not, the guards may try to restrain you.”
“Good luck with that,” Cole thought, not bothering to say it aloud for fear of further flustering the purple pony. He looked out the window to see the sun beginning to set: it was almost time for the meeting.
“Well, I guess I’ll be on my way,” he said, exiting the library. “Thank you for your help, Twilight Sparkle, and wish me luck.” With that, amidst a great gust of wind, he soared into the sky and headed off for the cliffside castle of Canterlot.
Twilight just stood there, shaking her head slightly. Now maybe she could pour over her notes and see if she wrote down anything that could start a chapter in her new book. Before she could, a knock at her door interrupted her thoughts.
“Hello?” she said, opening the door.
“Twilight my dear, may I come in?” Rarity asked, standing outside the library with a small but fashionable saddlebag resting on her flank.
“Sure, Rarity,” Twilight said, stepping aside to let the fellow unicorn in. “What brings you here at this time of day?”
“I’m glad you asked, my dear,” Rarity said, headed straight to the book section on dragons. “I’m worried about Spikey-Wikey: he’s been acting different since that Cole arrived, and I don’t know what to do.” She picked up a book on dragon physiology and opened it, leafing through the pages.
“What do you mean, different?” Twilight asked, picking up several other books with her magic and neatly placing them back in the shelf. “Has he been stealing things again?”
“No, I’m afraid it’s nothing as serious as that,” the white unicorn replied. “He’s grown almost six inches taller since Cole arrived and I’m worried that kirin may be affecting him somehow. Fluttershy told me to come to you, that you might have an answer.”
She finished turning a page and exclaimed: “Aha! Here it is.” Slowly perusing the page, she began to read out loud.
“As with any creature with a very long lifespan, dragons are unusual in their manner of aging. Some, when left alone, appear to age very slowly, though they may seem to have experiences far beyond their years. This is especially true with young dragons, as they may be several decades old but only appear to be children. It is hard to tell, as many age within the egg but fail to attain physical age when outside of a dragon-heavy environment. Perhaps the most notable case would be that of the egg hatched by Princess Celestia soon after the defeat of Discord. This dragon, named Onyx, appeared to be a baby when born, though in reality he was far older than any pony when he hatched: his egg had been in her possession for nearly a hundred years. He never seemed to grow past a juvenile stage in life until he was sent to the dragon lands as an emissary. Upon his return after a week, he had nearly tripled in size and apparent age. The princess realized he would continue to grow larger and therefor had him sent as a permanent ambassador to the dragons. From then on, many of the dragon eggs raised in Equestria were his children. ”
“Interesting,” Twilight said. “I never heard that story before. Is it possible this Onyx is Spike’s distant ancestor, like a grandfather or something?”
“Hush my dear,” Rarity said, causing Twilight to roll her eyes. “There’s more.”
“Further studies conducted in the land of the kirins established the fact that dragons respond physically to others similar to them, even if they are not purely dragon. An example of this would be Onyx’s sister, Sapphire, who responded the same way he did, but in the presence of kirins and fire drakes. It seems the morphological and lineal differences are rendered moot when there is contact between species of a common ancestor .”
Rarity looked up from the book at Twilight. “Twilight, how long was Spike an egg before you hatched him?” she asked.
Twilight furrowed her brow and thought hard. “If I remember correctly, he was a relatively recent arrival: only around twenty years as an egg. When I hatched him, Princess Celestia told me as such, but I never realized the significance until now.”
“So according to his book, Spike could grow to his full maturity when Cole is here?” Rarity asked, sounding a bit worried. “What if he becomes a monster like last time?”
“I don’t think that will happen,” Twilight said, patting her friend reassuringly on her back. “Remember, that monster was brought out by greed. Spike has been raised around magic, friendship and nearly everything that are completely opposite of normal dragon behaviors. We won’t know how things turn out until they do.”
“I hope you are right, Twilight my dear,” Rarity said, biting her lower lip as she closed the book. “I just wonder what else will happen when Cole is here.”
Meanwhile, off in a distant cave...
Thoughts swirled in the mind of the dark pony as she strode around the cave. Her plan had been foiled and her armies were dispersed for now: how in the world would she take over Equestria?
“My queen!” said one messenger, kneeling before her feet. “I bring news! A new creature has been spotted in Equestria, one with power to rival any of the princesses!”
A cruel smirk etched the mouth of the Changeling Queen. “Excellent; you are dismissed. I must have silence to digest this news.” With that the Changeling minion flew away, the buzzing soon fading into the interior of the cave.
Meanwhile, in the distant mountains of Equestria...
He awoke to the sensation of pain. It was as if his entire body had been torn apart and smashed back together without any conscious thought or direction. But it did not matter to him, the harbinger of doom: he had already experienced this pain before.
As he looked down at himself, he realized he was no longer the same. His old body was gone: in its stead, a terrifying amalgamation of what could only be described as mythical creatures was under his control. Part hydra, part manticore and part griffin, with bits of other creatures thrown in for good measure: he was truly what his new name had represented.
A Beast. Raising his head towards the sky, he let out a ferocious roar, shaking the very hills around him with his fury.
Off in the distance, surrounded by a large and spacious garden, a statue moved. Its body was chaotic and random, with parts from every creature known to pony kind assembled somehow. A small crack formed along the chest, and that was all it took: a shadow flew out from the hardened stone and slithered across the ground, headed right in the direction of the distant mountains. Its time had come, and this time no pony would stop him.
Meanwhile, at the grand city of Canterlot...
Cole gently flew down to the ground as to not cause much of a ruckus. As he looked around, he noticed no ponies were in sight. Then again, at this hour most had retired to their houses and were likely preparing for bed. His long jaunts amidst the buildings of New Marais and Empire City at night had left him with a high tolerance for low levels of sleep. Then again, it didn’t hurt to have powers that kept him rejuvenated long past the exhaustion point of normal creatures.
“I guess the meeting would be this way,” he thought, walking towards a large pair of doors leading into the castle. Before he could take another step, a pair of winged ponies blocked his path, their armor still glinting in the fading sunlight.
“Halt! Who goes there?” they said in unison. Cole sighed: better safe than sorry.
“It is I, Cole MacGrath, here to speak with the princesses. They invited me,” he added, hoping to not sound impatient or rude.
A voice drifted in from the doors: “Let him in, guards. You are free to leave.” With simultaneous motions the guards bowed and opened the doors. Nodding in return, Cole strode in: sooner than he expected, the large wooden doors slammed shut behind him.
“Please, do come in,” the voice said, leading Cole through another hallway past what only could be a throne room. Now that he thought about it, it had to be Celestia’s voice.
“Hello,” he said, rounding a corner. To his surprise, he found Celestia sitting in what appeared to be a rather large bedroom. Sitting next to her was a smaller, dark blue pony just like herself: the crown signified it was likely Luna, her younger sister.
“Please shut the door behind you, Cole,” Celestia said. As he did so, Cole couldn’t help but wonder why he was here. I mean, he had already met and earned the favor of Celestia back in Ponyville: maybe Luna wanted to meet him as well?
Sitting down in front in them, he bowed his head as he remembered Twilight showing him the proper manner for greeting royalty. “Hello, your highnesses,” he said, looking at each princess equally. “May I ask why I was summoned?”
“Summoned?” Celestia asked, looking at her sister. “I simply asked you to come: we wish to discuss with you the living arrangements in Ponyville and the responsibilities that go along with them.”
Cole blinked in confusion: he was going to live in Ponyville? Sure, he had given it some thought, but he had always assumed he would live on the outskirts of the city, sort of like a hermit. “I’m not sure what you mean, princess,” he said.
“Well, since you will live in the village, you must acquaint yourself with all the other ponies,” Celestia continued, explaining it as she would to a young colt. “It would be best for your introduction to be as seamless as possible, so as to not ruffle anypony’s mane, as they say,” she said, chuckling slightly at her own joke. “Then I suppose we will have to find you a job.”
“Well, this is going rather fast,” Cole said, unsure why the smaller pony had not yet responded: she just kept staring at him. “Is there anything you had in mind?”
“Well, now that you mention it, the mail-pony Derpy Hooves has been busy of late and the old delivery-pony Thaddeus Express is about to retire, so I was hoping you could deliver packages in Ponyville. You seem like a strong enough kirin to be up to the task.” She smiled when she said this, as if knowing it was a job he had plenty of experience with.
“That...That would be great,” he said, unsure whether to be surprised or grateful for the offer. “Where will I live, in the meantime?”
“With the one called Twilight Sparkle, in her tree library,” Luna suddenly said, her voice seemingly amplified by some unknown force. With a glare from her older sister, she spoke again, albeit softer and more relaxed. “Sorry, force of habit.”
“It’s quite alright,” Cole said, noticing the blush creep along her face when he looked at her. Oh great, another pony who was nervous around him. “Is there anything else?”
“Not for the moment, though I would greatly enjoy you making friends among the ponies,” Celestia said. “I also hoped you would come to the Grand Galloping Gala in the coming weeks: it’s only the biggest party of the year and I would hope to introduce you to many of Canterlot’s elite.”
Cole inwardly groaned at the prospect of meeting snooty, stuck-up rich ponies, but he couldn’t refuse a favor. “I’ll be sure to be there,” he said. “Goodbye, your highnesses.” With that, he walked over to the open window and flew out, circling once before headed off for the dim lights of Ponyville.
Celestia turned to her sister, a mischievous smile on her face. “So, sister,” she said, in an almost nonchalant manner. “What do you think of Cole?”
Her sister blushed and nervously shuffled her hooves. “I...I like him, sister,” she said, looking out the window. “When may I see him again?”
Celestia felt the giddiness from before rise up inside her: the plan was working perfectly. “How about we wait until the party, sister of mine?’ she said with a slight yawn. “Now, I must retire: keep a watch on Ponyville for me, would you?”
“Of course, sister” Luna said, looking out her window at the village in the distance. A lone figure soaring through the air was her main focus, anyway. “Of course.”
Royal Invitation and Friendly Advice
Chapter Five
A Royal Invitation and Friendly Advice (Warning: this chapter may contain fourth-wall breakage.)
Cole landed gently in front of the hospital, gingerly releasing the worn-out pegasus from his arms.
“Will you be she right?” he asked the attending nurse after describing her ordeal. The pony nodded her head, the red bangs on her mane obscuring her ears.
“She should be out within a few days: from what you described, she needs plenty of rest so she can replace the blood she lost. She’s lucky to be alive,” the nurse added as they brought the almost-sleeping Fluttershy into the hospital room.
“Cole,” the pegasus whispered as they drew the covers over her body. Cole leaned in, staring right into her face. Her large eyes seemed into stare directly into his soul.
“Yes?” he said, unsure what she wanted. Then she did something completely unexpected: she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
“Thank you,” she said, a small smile forming on her face. Then her eyelids shut and her breathing slowed: she had fallen asleep.
Cole walked out of the hospital, unsure of what to feel. He sat down under a nearby tree, trying to sort through the plethora of thoughts floating through his head. “She kissed me,” he muttered, looking into a small but beautiful flower’s petals. “She kissed me: why? Was it just a thank-you for saving her?”
His train of thought was interrupted by a flash of light: Twilight Sparkle appeared before him.
“Cole,” she said, panting slightly from the exertion her teleportation spell had placed upon her. “When you are ready, the princesses wish to see you,” she said, carrying a royal note she had gotten from Spike.
“What do you mean, princesses?” Cole asked, standing up. “As in more than one?”
“Yes: sisters, as a matter of fact,” Twilight said, silently hoping he would agree to a meeting. “They co-rule Equestria: one by day, another by night.”
Cole was a bit unsure, but his wounds were completely healed and he looked presentable. “Yes, I will meet them,” he said. “When and where will we meet?”
“That’s the thing,” Twilight said as a large chariot approached from the sky. “Princess Celestia is on her way here right now. That’s her,” she said, pointing a hoof into the sky. Cole looked up in time to see a burst of sunshine peer through the clouds and encircle the figure in the chariot.
Cole blinked his eyes as the largest pony he had ever seen stepped gracefully out of the carriage. Or, it seemed to be a pony of some kind. It clearly had a large unicorn horn, but the rather large pair of wings meant it could fly as well: weird. Add to the fact she- at least he was sure it was a she- was the brightest shade of white he had ever seen in another being, and her overall appearance could be mistaken for that of a goddess.
“Uh,” Cole said, not sure how to proceed: he had never met royalty before. “Greetings, your majesty,” he said, before bowing as gracefully as he could.
“Greetings to you as well, the one they call Cole MacGrath,” she said, her melodious and serene voice indicating she was not at all surprised by his experience. Or maybe she was simply masking her thoughts: it was hard to tell. “May I ask you why you have come to Equestria?”
Cole simply shrugged. “I’m not sure how to explain it, but in my world I died and all of a sudden woke up here. Well, not exactly here, but up in those mountains,” he said, pointing up behind the princess. “I explored for a bit before finding myself part of an accident: your subject, Twilight Sparkle, brought me to the hospital.”
“And I see you have recovered remarkably quickly,” the princess said, looking him over. “Though I must ask: why are you covered in bite marks?”
“There was some trouble with a pack of timber wolves,” he said. “One of the pegasi, named Fluttershy, had been attacked and was cornered. I did what I always did in a situation like that: form a plan and attempt to save the one in trouble. Other than a few scrapes my powers didn’t completely heal, she should only need some rest for a few days.”
“Powers,” the princess repeated, looking a little nonplussed. “What do you mean by powers? My student reported you were capable of extraordinary things, but I would like to see something for myself.”
“Uh, sure, your highness,” Cole said, a bit nervous: what if she deemed him a danger to her subjects? “You see that mountaintop over there?” he asked, pointing to one off in the distance. “Watch it.” Concentrating, he felt his vision almost zoom in on the peak in question. With some exertion from his horn, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and struck the mountain.
He let up on his powers and turned back to the princess. He was about to ask her if he could do anything else, but the look on her face made him stop: she seemed not angry, but either worried or at least a bit puzzled.
“How do you do that?” she finally asked, taking a step in his direction. “Electromancy is among the rarest of all gifts, one that few if any have ever possessed.”
“It was something visited upon me by someone who shouldn’t have existed. All I know is that no matter what I do, I cannot help but try and help others with it,” he said, hoping a declaration of his worth would be enough to satiate her curiosity.
“You obviously have great power and are more than capable of controlling others,” Celestia said, taking another step forward. “Why haven’t you? Power is a very great temptation to abuse, after all.”
Cole sighed: he hoped is answer would not affect the princesses’ opinion of him. “To become truly great, one has to stand with the people, not above them. I have no ambition of furthering my power unless it can save others: nothing I have done has been for myself.” He paused for a moment. “No matter the pain I have suffered, the injustices done to me, I know that being selfless is the only way for me to be a better being.” He almost said person, but he had a feeling that might have just thrown the princess off: she had no idea what a human was just yet, and likely wouldn’t know until Twilight filled her in on the matter.
There was silence for a moment, and then the princess did something unexpected: she smiled. “That was the answer I was looking for,” she said, brushing her wings together. “I pride myself on being a good judge of character, and you, Cole MacGrath, are one of the finest beings I have met. Have no fear: I will not banish you from this kingdom,” she said, smirking slightly at the shock on his face: had she read his mind? “I would, however, enjoy having you at Canterlot for a more private meeting with myself and my younger sister, Luna. There are matters of royal importance we would need to discuss, so feel free to come any time you can.”
With a graceful yet quick spin, she walked back into her chariot and soon flew off into the clouds, likely headed back for Canterlot. Cole stood there, nonplussed at what had just happened. Twilight, on the other hand, seemed incredibly excited.
“Ooh!” she said, almost bouncing up and down. “You get to have an audience with both of the princesses! This is a very rare occurrence, Cole: they almost never meet someone at the same time. You must have greatly piqued Celestia’s interest.”
Cole shrugged off his confusion and looked at the giddy unicorn. “Are you always this excited by royalty?” he asked, thinking back to how news stations on Earth would go bonkers over anything royal in nature.
“Well, as a personal student of Princess Celestia, I keep in touch with her on a weekly basis,” Twilight replied as-a-matter-of-factly. “I never met her and her sister at the same time for business; except for my brother’s wedding, and even then it wasn’t official business.”
“What should I expect?” Cole asked, feeling he was going to learn much about the princesses from this purple pony.
“Don’t you worry,” Twilight said, patting him on the head, much to his annoyance. “I’ll tell you everything you need to know. Now if you’ll just follow me, I can get you ready.” With that, Twilight led the suddenly unsure kirin back to the library to prepare him for his royal meeting.
Meanwhile, back in the hospital...
Fluttershy gently opened her eyes at the sound of voices. Looking around, she saw all her friends clustered around her hospital bed. Well, excepy for Twilight and Spike: they were both absent.
“Fluttershy my dear, are you okay?” Rarity asked, her face etched with worry. “We rushed over as quickly as we could!”
“Oh yes, I’m much better now, but thank you for asking,” Fluttershy responded kindly, glad her friends were there: she had so many questions.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Applejack asked, her hat askew: she had definitely run to the hospital. “We heard ‘bout the wolves from Twilight and how that critter Cole rescued you.”
“Oh yes, he did rescue me, didn’t he?’ Fluttershy said, a far-off look drifting into her eyes. “He was amazing, fighting them all off by himself.”
“What’s with that look in your eyes?” Pinkie Pie said, walking up and waving her hoof in front of Fluttershy’s face. “Hello, anypony in there? Fluttershy, are you still with us?”
The yellow pegasus shook her head, bringing her thoughts back into focus. “Sorry; can I ask you guys something?”
“Sure,” Rainbow Dash said. “What’s on your mind?”
“It’s... It’s about Cole,” Fluttershy said, watching her friend’s faces. “I would like to see him again.”
“Already? Darling, you only just met! Meeting a gentlemen so soon after he rescued you would be borderline scandalous!” Rarity said, her shock clearly evident. “Think of what other ponies would say!”
“Well, why shouldn’t she see him again?” Applejack said, sounding a bit confused. “I mean, he saved her and all: what if she wants ta say thanks?”
“Come to think of it, we still all have to meet him,” Rainbow Dash said, her hoof scratching at her chin. “I still wanna know how fast he can fly.”
“We’ll all get our chance at his party!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “I still need to set up the balloons and streamers: the cakes will be ready by the time he comes back from his meeting.”
“Wait, what meetin’?” Applejack said, turning to Pinkie Pie.
“Oh you know, the one with the princesses,” Pinkie Pie calmly explained as she drew a notepad from nowhere and began writing down party foods.
“Nobody evah told us ‘bout a meetin’,” Applejack said, wondering just how Pinkie Pie had learned that.
“I have my sources,” Pinkie Pie said, turning to look at a very confused reader. The other ponies just shrugged: nobody had a clue as to why Pinkie Pie behaved the way she did.
“Well, we’ll be seeing you later, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash said, leaving the room first. The others bid farewell as well, and soon only Rarity was still there with the pegasus.
“Fluttershy, may I ask you a question?” she said, looking rather nervous.
“Certainly,” the yellow pegasus replied.
“Cole’s dragon features: are they... frightening in any way?” the white unicorn asked.
Fluttershy tapped a hoof on her chin, as if in thought. “Come to think of it, no, actually,” she said. “Cole didn’t seem scary at all like those other big and mean and nasty dragons. Why do you ask?”
Rarity bit her lip, afraid of what she was about to reveal. “Well, something seems to be wrong with Spike. He’s grown almost six inches since Cole arrived and I’m worried it might be the greed in him acting up again. The problem is, he doesn’t want anything or seem to be interested in taking anything: he’s just growing bigger and I only found out when my sister told me earlier this afternoon.”
Fluttershy pondered this for a moment. “Well, Cole is dragon-like in appearance. It could be that because of Cole’s presence, Spike might be experiencing something like a growth spurt. There are plenty of animals who change when around others like them: I would ask Twilight if one of her books might hold some answers.”
“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Rarity said, giving her a small hug. With that, Fluttershy was left alone in her room, save for her thoughts on a certain heroic kirin.