//------------------------------// // 18 - Top o' the Morning // Story: Hazel Eyes in the Moonlight // by Oddling //------------------------------// The following morning found Jim walking through the hall of Twilight’s castle, heading toward the study. He had awoken shortly after dawn, no thanks to the birds singing as soon as the first rays of the sun breached the horizon’s edge. Though Jim did hold an appreciation for birdsong, he had not been as pleased about it due to being up late into the evening with Luna. He knew it was his own fault for letting himself stay up that late, but he could not help feeling a little annoyed at being awoken so soon after falling asleep. Needless to say, he wished he had gotten more coffee as he approached the room. As Jim grew closer to Twilight’s study he began to feel his hackles rise nervously. Last night had been an ordeal in and of itself, but now was a moment of truth for him. While he had been munching on a few muffins in the kitchen, Spike had burped up a letter. In said letter was a message for Jim saying that his presence had been required at his earliest convenience in the study. So there he was, standing in front of the same door as before, only he was far more restless this time. He could hear conversation on the other side of the door. Celestia was definitely present, and a faint hum of agreement signified Twilight was also within the room. Then, through the simple inquiry of “So… how long do we have to wait?” Jim immediately knew that Scootaloo had been brought to the castle. Jim swallowed roughly, his throat seemingly becoming as sparse as a desert. The time had come for him to do the most difficult thing in his entire eighty-six years of life. With a deep breath to try and calm his nerves, Jim reached forward and opened the door. As the door opened, the expression on the werewolf shifted from unease to calm neutral, if only to make it seem that everything was fine while he silently screamed on the inside. He slowly lumbered into the room to stand in roughly the same place he had stood just last night. As the large werewolf entered the study, the casual conversation between the two Alicorns and the young filly came to an end. Scootaloo’s face brightened up upon seeing Jim, even Twilight offered him a warm smile. Celestia’s expression still dulled, though her eyes did not hold anywhere near as much firmness so Jim counted it as a small step in the right direction. The young pegasus swiftly leapt from her seat at the table and dashed over to Jim. “Mr. Jim!” With a smile, Jim knelt down to greet Scootaloo. “Hey there, kid. You didn’t have to wait long, did you?” “Well… not really. I only got here a little while ago,” Scootaloo replied. “I can’t really complain about the wait, though. It was still cool to be able to sit with Princess Celestia.” Jim chuckled and gently ruffled her purple mane a bit. “Well that makes me feel a little better. I’d hate to be responsible for forcing a little filly to be bored out of her mind because I was enjoying some muffins.” He turned his attention to the two others at the table. “I take it that it’s time to… enlighten her?” he asked. Celestia nodded her head and closed her eyes. “Yes. Scootaloo… you may want to take a seat. We have something very important to discuss,” she answered before opening her eyes to watch the filly carefully. Scootaloo’s head turned back and forth between Jim and the princess, confusion clear in her expression. “W-what do you mean? What’s going on?” Celestia’s calmness diminished as she saw the mood of her little pony change so quickly. It was bad enough that the coming discussion had to take place, let alone for it to involve a filly as young as Scootaloo. Twilight’s ears folded back as she, too, felt a wave of sadness fill her at seeing Scootaloo’s reaction. Jim however, despite his initial feelings on the matter, seemed to know that it was now up to him to take the next step. He placed his hand on Scootaloo’s back, instantly gaining her attention as she looked up to him with scared, questioning eyes. “Jim? What’s-” “Shh… calm down, Scootaloo. You’ve… well, I can’t really say you have nothing to worry about, but trust me when I say you are not in trouble – nor are you at fault for anything.” Jim gently pat Scootaloo’s back before he removed the appendage and kneeled down a little closer to her. He glanced over to Celestia for a moment before he continued. “What I am about to tell you… is not easy for me to reveal to you. However, it is very important that I tell you. And… I will understand if you hate me for this…” Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she saw the look of sorrow and regret on Jim’s face. She was unsure what to think at the moment, but one thing she felt certain of was that she couldn’t hate Jim for anything. She stepped up to him and placed her hoof against his knee, rubbing in a soothing motion to try and make that look on his face change to a better one. “Don’t worry, Jim. I’m sure it can’t be that bad.” A deep, weak chuckle emanated from Jim’s throat as he shook his head. “I wish I could agree.” He sighed. “Scootaloo… the reason why you were asked to come here… is because the princesses and I believe that I’ve done something terrible to you. You see… there’s a chance that I may have… infected you with my curse. We aren’t sure yet, but the princesses were going to inspect you to confirm it.” Scootaloo’s ears stood strait up as her jaw dropped. She could hardly believe what Jim had just told her. She stared at him in disbelief while her little mind ran a mile a minute. Jim, not liking how deathly quiet the little one had become, looked to Celestia and Twilight, unsure of how to handle things at that point. Unfortunately, all either of them could provide were unsure looks in return, though Celestia’s expression seemed more curious than anything, as if she could see what the filly was contemplating… to a degree. Suddenly, Jim felt the little hoof against his knee gently start tapping him. He looked back down to see Scootaloo’s eyes totally focused on his own. “Mr. Jim… does that mean that I might turn into a werewolf, too?” she asked. Jim’s brow furrowed as he thought about that question. What would happen to her if she was infected? Would she turn into a wolf? Would she gain wolf-like features? Hell, would she end up changing into what he was, a mutt of a werewolf? How would that even work? He was so distracted by such thoughts that he almost missed what was said next. “There is no way of knowing how Jim’s curse may affect you, Scootaloo,” Twilight informed. “To be honest, even the way Jim looks now is an enigma. From what he told us last night, he shouldn’t even resemble the appearance he now has.” Hearing those words, Scootaloo took her hoof from Jim’s leg and started to lightly tap at her chin as she thought some more. Celestia took notice of the reaction and some of her warm, motherly smile melted into her expression. “It would seem that you are taking this news rather well, Scootaloo.” Hearing the princess address her, Scootaloo’s ears perked up again as she looked to her. “Huh? Oh, well… yeah, I guess. I mean, I think this is kinda cool, actually.” “Oh?” Celestia’s interest was piqued. “Yeah. Who wouldn’t want to be big and strong like Jim? Oh! Maybe you could teach me to be more like you now!” Scootaloo beamed at Jim. “Wait,” Jim said quickly and shook his head. “So… you’re not angry? Why? There’s a chance that I’ve made you into a bloodthirsty monster, just like I am… was… Ugh, this is making my head hurt.” “Well… okay, you have a point… but I don’t think anything bad will happen. You’ll help me, right?” “Of course I will,” Jim answered instantly. “I’m responsible for it and I’ll make damn sure that you’re properly cared for.” “Well, as admirable as that is,” Celestia interjected calmly, “There isn’t any reason to be getting ahead of ourselves just yet. I still have to scan Scootaloo’s body for traces of your curse. I believe we should confirm that before we take any further steps in this discussion.” Feeling slightly embarrassed for getting ahead of himself, a first now that he had a moment to consider it, Jim chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck as he stood up. “Right… so…?” Twilight smiled and she, along with Princess Celestia, lit up her horn to begin the process. Two auras of magic wrapped around Scootaloo’s little body and lifted her into the air. As she was lifted higher, magical circles began to form on the ground and ceiling in golden light. Jim eyed the scene with intrigue, wondering if this was the same spell that had been used on him. It then occurred to him that when he had been inside of such a magic spell his body had reacted to it. He lifted his hand up to get the attention of the two Alicorns. “Hold on...” he requested cautiously. “Scootaloo, do you feel anything strange? Like a twisting feeling in your gut?” Scootaloo tried to look over her shoulder to answer him, but the magic held her firmly in position. She then went to open her mouth and noticed that she could at least vocalize her response. “Well… I’ve been lifted by magic before, but I don’t feel anything out of the ordinary. It’s still weird, though, being lifted like this. Is this going to take long?” she asked. Celestia smiled reassuringly to the young pegasus filly. “Don’t worry, Scootaloo. This should only take a few moments. If there are no other interruptions then Twilight and I can finish the scan in a short few minutes,” she replied and looked to Jim questioningly. Jim shook his head and gestured with his hand for them to continue. His nerves seemed to ease up a little, having heard something he considered good news. If Scootaloo wasn’t feeling anything from the magic around her then there was a good chance that she had not contracted his curse. He took a few steps back until his tail brushed against the wall behind him. Though he did not feel anything odd like the last time he had been near such peculiar magic, seeing the circles on the ground and ceiling slowly expanding made him reconsider sticking near Scootaloo. True to her word, it did not take long before the glowing circles began to fade and for Scootaloo’s hooves to gently land on the floor. Once the glow from the spell had completely disappeared, the little one cautiously turned her head around to inspect herself while Twilight looked over to Celestia for the verdict. To say that Jim’s unease had returned would have been deeply understated. He had eyed the process from start to finish. What had initially seemed to be nothing more than Celestia concentrating turned into a look of grim acceptance. Though her calm expression spoke otherwise, it was the solar princess’ eyes that told Jim what he didn’t want to know. His fists clenched tightly as he fought back a scream of anger. Never before had he hated himself more than he did in this moment. Were it not for the fact that he now had to help Scootaloo, he would have ripped his own throat out… a fitting way to go if he had to pick a death sentence. However, despite his new heights of self-loathing, Jim knew what he had to do now. He stepped over to stand beside Scootaloo and he gently placed his hand on her back once more. Scootaloo looked up to him only to see he had fixed his eyes upon Princess Celestia. “So… what’s the verdict, Princess Celestia?” he asked, his tone low and laced with a deep growl. Celestia’s gaze lowered to Scootaloo and, for the first time, the young filly saw something deep within the princess’ eyes. The kind smile on her face was betrayed by a sadness within those amethyst pools. It did not take long for Celestia to realize that she had been seen through and her soft smile turned sympathetic. Celestia sighed faintly. “It would appear that Jim’s curse has been passed on to you, Scootaloo. I’m sorry.” Scootaloo simply stared at the princess for a few moments as she thought about those words. She had been infected. She was just like Jim now. Her face slowly started to light up and she looked up at Jim, but whatever excitement she held a second ago vanished when she saw the anger in his gaze as he stared at Celestia. “Celestia,” Jim began slowly. “I know that things didn’t go as planned back in Canterlot, but I have to ask. When you and your sister examined me… did you think it possible to remove my curse? Is it possible, at all, to be rid of it?” he asked. Celestia sighed gently as she closed her eyes to choose her words carefully. Her eyes slowly opened when she was ready. “Jim… it is possible to remove the curse. Unfortunately… in doing so, you would be losing whatever it is that keeps you alive. When my sister and I said there appeared to be Equestrian magic involved it meant that we’ve seen something like this in the past. To make matters worse, the last time we encountered such magic was back when we fought with King Sombra. There is some form of dark magic within you, Jim. Sadly, that is all we can discern. We have never encountered it before, but we do know that the curse runs too deeply… within your body and soul. The same now applies to Scootaloo. Whatever your curse is, it’s taken root so deep within her young body that removing it would kill her – I’m even willing to bet my crown that hers runs deeper than yours.” Jim sighed heavily and ran his claws through the fur atop his head while he grit his teeth. Celestia simply looked into Jim’s eyes calmly. She knew he would try to think of something to say, but Celestia had spent a few days discussing this matter with Luna. Even with their combined knowledge, there just wasn’t a way around killing the victim of whatever this curse was. Rather, it wasn’t so much a curse as it was a very volatile and constantly shifting dark magic spell. The matrix of the magic followed a very lengthy pattern that would repeat, but after every repetition a new factor would enter into the magical equation to lengthen the already sizable spell. Judging from how advanced the magic had already become within the young pegasus, even though it had only been inside her for a few days, it wouldn’t be long before Scootaloo’s curse would match or surpass Jim’s in its complexity. But it had long passed the point of safely removing it from her little body. “Wait!” Scootaloo said loud enough to get everyone’s attention. “Who said I even wanted to have it removed?” she asked as she looked up to Jim with a more determined glare. Jim’s firm gaze instantly dropped to glare right back at the orange filly, and in that moment, Scootaloo knew she had just said something foolish again. The towering form of Jim slowly lowered until his face was right in front of hers. “And tell me, Scootaloo… what about my curse makes you think it shouldn’t be removed?” he growled. Scootaloo gulped nervously as his hazel eyes stared at her, through her. “W-well… you’re big and strong. You can beat Timberwolves without breaking a sweat, you scared off that Manticore through intimidation alone and-” “And what? All you’re describing are things that I had to do so that you weren’t eaten. Yes I may be big and strong, but that does nothing good. You’ve seen it, ponies are afraid of me because I look like something out of their nightmares! But that’s beside the point I’m trying to make here. What you don’t seem to get is that you’ve been infected by something that will strip away your free will and make you into a murderer! You remember when I attacked you in the cave?” Jim asked heatedly. Scootaloo nodded, her ears folded back as fear slowly festered in her stomach at seeing Jim so upset with her. “I wasn’t in control of myself back then – not completely. I nearly killed you. What you fail to recall is that I have killed in the past. You’re too young to grasp this kind of thing, but it’s not easy to end another life. Just imagine this, for one second, that you’ve become like me.” Scootaloo nodded faintly. “Now imagine you’re standing next to your friends.” Another nod came from Scootaloo and she sat down and began stroking her tail as an uneasy look melted into her features. She may have been young, but even she knew where Jim was going with this. “Now imagine that you’ve just murdered them with your own hooves, or worse, you ripped them apart with fangs like mine. This is what could happen, Scootaloo… it’s what has happened to me. I had no control over my actions when my curse was active, though I could influence things to a degree, and I only barely managed to figure things out when I almost killed you. That doesn’t mean that you’ll be as lucky. Until we know that you’ll be free from the bloodthirsty nature of my curse, you are going to take this seriously and we will strive to find a way to… try, and fix this,” Jim finished and he turned his gaze to Celestia. Celestia shook her head softly. “I am truly sorry, Jim, but none of us will be able to help you. My sister and I already spent a lot of time thinking back on dark magic. The only progress we managed to make was remembering that dark magic is vast. Many things can influence that form of magic, especially emotions, but that only complicates things in the end. Without knowing what it was from our world that was used in the creation of the spell that afflicts you both, there is nothing that my sister or I can do.” Jim sighed. Looks like I was wrong to hope… again, he thought, though he was surprisingly alright with how things had turned out. He turned his head down to see Scootaloo had not moved and that she was still trying to calm herself by petting her own tail. Well fuck… I guess I should have been a little easier on her… Jim reached his hand out and gently lifted Scootaloo’s face to look at him. The tears in her eyes were almost enough to break his heart, but he held his composure. He needed her to understand that everything would be alright. His stern expression fell and he gave Scootaloo the most sympathetic look he could. “Look, Scootaloo… I’m sorry that I upset you. I know you wanted to think that this could be a cool thing, but, well… we shouldn’t think that this isn’t a big deal. I mean… maybe… maybe it could be a cool thing. I could teach you to be more aware of your surroundings, you know, like when I spotted that flyer in the sky. I could, well, at the rate things are going already, I’ll teach you some useful things. I don’t know what you really see in me, but maybe I could try to be a good role model for you. What do you think, sound like a neat idea?” he asked with a soft smile. Scootaloo’s sadness seemed to melt a little and a tiny smile graced her lips and her amethyst eyes twinkled with the life Jim was used to seeing in them. She nodded softly against Jim’s hand. Jim’s smile widened a little more and he scooped her up to hug her against his chest. “That’s the spirit.” Scootaloo did her best to return the hug, an act that was made difficult just from Jim’s sheer size. After all, she barely reached his knees. The sight gave Celestia and Twilight something to be genuinely happy about as warm smiles adorned both their faces. Sadly, the touching moment couldn’t last forever and Celestia cleared her thoat. “I do believe that we’ve discussed this enough, but there is one last thing I wish to add.” She turned her eyes directly toward Jim. “As we discussed last night, you are now her guardian. I want you to be near her as often as possible. Luna’s next full moon isn’t due for another few weeks, but I would be lying if I said I was comfortable with Scootaloo being left to transform without you nearby. Will you accompany her until she transforms?” Jim nodded. “Of course. I won’t let any of you down.” Suddenly, Scootaloo’s head popped up and she looked up at Jim, her eyes wide and a big grin plastered across her face. “Oh my gosh! This is going to be so cool! It’ll be like hanging out all the time! Do you think you could start teaching me some things today? Please?” she beamed happily. Jim couldn’t help but chuckle at the little filly’s antics. It was kind of strange watching a child go back and forth emotionally. He didn’t really understand how it had happened, but he was not going to complain. A happy kid was better than an upset one… oh how he had hated it when they cried back on Earth. Still, he found her excitement to be a little addictive as he also allowed his fangs to show with a playful grin. “Sounds like it could be fun. Should we invite your other friends along? I’m sure they’d like to see some of the neat tricks I have in mind to show you.” Scootaloo’s smile wavered for a moment and Jim instantly took notice of it. How could he not? He had been the reason for that look after all. “Don’t worry, Scootaloo. I won’t let anything bad happen. Trust me.” The smile returned to Scootaloo’s lips and she nodded. “Okay. Yeah, let’s go see if they want to hang out with us, too. We’re going to have so much fun!” Jim chuckled again and placed the filly down. “I would hope so. It’s no fun being a boring old wolf.” With that, Jim proceeded to leave the room. He glanced over his shoulder at Celestia, his eyes making it clear that he wanted to properly conclude the discussion about his curse at a later time. Then, with Scootaloo in tow, he left the room to find the little one’s friends, though he was still wracking his brain about what he would start with for Scootaloo’s lessons. Observation exercises were probably going to get pretty mundane after a short while. Meanwhile, Celestia simply watched the two leave the room. Part of her wanted to call Jim back, but she just could not bring herself to do so with how excited Scootaloo had been. The little filly would need a good distraction for a while, if only so that she could come to terms with what was to come in her young life. Instead, the princess chose to quietly contemplate how she would break the news of what had transpired to her sister when she awoke. Celestia’s thoughts were interrupted by a giggle beside her. She looked to Twilight with an inquisitive eye. The youngest of the Alicorn Princesses held a hoof to her lips as she continued to laugh quietly. She eventually regained her composure and she looked to Celestia with a happy smile. “I don’t think I’ve seen Scootaloo so excited before. I’d even place a few bits betting that Jim’s about to give Rainbow Dash a run for her money in the ‘awesome’ department. And… it was also kind of cute seeing Jim with a happy little filly by his side.” Celestia smiled as well and shook her head gently. “Indeed. It sure is a sharp contrast compared to my first impression of him. When I first laid eyes on him, Jim gave off the impression that he was cold, dark… the kind who would strike when your attention was drawn elsewhere. Yet… now that I’ve heard his story, and also what Luna shared with me in a dream last night, I don’t see that anymore. I see someone who has lived through the harshness of another world and risen above it in his own way. And, though it is still hard to see it, I also feel that he has a softer heart than he lets on. I believe that he will be a good influence on Scootaloo and her friends… and maybe even the rest of my little ponies, should they find it in their hearts to open up to him.” Twilight’s smile grew smaller as she reflected on her interactions with Jim. But after a few quiet moments, the corners of her lips rose once again. “I think you’re right, Princess. He comes off as a bit rough around the edges, but… I haven’t seen him openly make the first strike against anypony. He’s only reacted to others around him. He throws out his defenses the moment he feels things might turn out poorly for him, but he’s held back his aggression every time. There have been plenty of opportunities for him to attack us, hay, I doubt any of us would stand a chance against him in a fight. Yet… he’s shown us that he can be trusted and that he has noble intentions, despite everything he’s been through. And… I also feel that we’ve learned from him, in some way or another. I know I should have learned this before, but… you really can’t judge anypony by their appearance. I’m thankful for that reminder.” Celestia smiled warmly and she turned her head toward the window of the study. “I am too, Twilight.”