//------------------------------// // Chance Meeting // Story: Wild Card // by Barrel-of-fun //------------------------------// So, new story. Should be good. Updates should be around once a week and, hopefully, will remain at around 2000 words. At the very least 1500+. Edited by the Awesome PieisGood4U Enjoy Barrel-of-fun ---------- The applause of the crowd was hungrily absorbed by the red-headed street performer. He took a low, sweeping bow to the gathered audience as they applauded his skill. He had just finished performing a two hour magic show on the streets of London to the amusement of any who passed by. His angular face was red with exertion and his white shirt and waistcoat clung to his body with sweat. It had been a long and gruelling day working outside underneath the sun in this fancy getup but certain things were expected of street magicians. One of those things was that they looked a bit weird. If looking weird was a competition than this particular performer might not take the gold, but he would certainly add a sense of style and grace to the preceding. He had red rust coloured hair that hung loosely around his face and was tied back into a long braid that almost reached his waist. Atop his head was a fancy top hat, black, to match the black waistcoat he wore over a pearly white shirt. Below his left eye, if you looked closely, you might make out the small tattoo of a spade from a deck of cards. A sign nearby indicated his identity as the Amazing Ace, Magician Extraordinaire. His smooth, well-practiced voice raised above the crowd’s applause. He had attended classes to get the right voice that a good performer needed. A husky yet smooth voice that offered mystery and suspense to all who heard it. It could also be used to pick up chicks at bars. “Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for attending my show. It is now time for my final trick. I shall astound you. Mystify you. Bamboozle you. I shall do a feat that modern science has deemed impossible. I shall disappear!” The crowd took this news well, bursting into a fresh round of applause. In truth, the disappearing trick was old hat among magicians, but it was the delivery that was important. You could see the same trick a thousand times but so long as the delivery remained fresh then you would still enjoy the trick. The magician, Ace, raised a large black shroud in front of himself, to block the audience's view. It wouldn’t do to reveal the trick itself. The magic was in the mystery after all. The crowd watched with baited breath, eager to see the outcome of the trick. The automated sound system played out a drum roll and, at the height of the drum’s suspense building tones, the curtain fell to reveal nothing behind it. The audience beat their hands together furiously in applause of the magicians skill, fully expecting him to come out on stage once more to take a final bow. But the Amazing Ace had performed his last, and most brilliant, trick. He had disappeared off the face of the planet. ---------- I awoke floating in some kind of endless void. All I could see around me was purest black, as far as the eye could see. What had happened to me? Had I had some kind of accident on stage? Maybe collapsed into a coma? Am I dead? “Relax, young Ace, I have brought you here for a reason of great importance” “Who's that? Who's there?…God? Is that God? Oh, I’m sorry for not believing in you, I swear I had a good reason…just give me a minute to think of one” “Calm yourself, I am much more familiar to you than God. In fact, you have known me all your life. I have helped you many a time, you may call me Lady Luck” Lady Luck? I couldn’t believe it. The lady of Fortune was the only god I had sent actual prayers to in my life. Whenever I was doing a particularly risky trick of playing a high stakes game of poker I had sent silent prayers to the being before me. Just couldn’t believe she was actually real. Lady Luck chose this moment to reveal herself to me. A tall, full bodied woman in a long, sleek black dress. Her hair rolled down her head in waves of bright red curls, easily out shining to my own rusty locks. Around her neck were a string of pearls that glimmered in a non-existent sunlight. Her beauty seemed to light up the void around us. Damn. My deity was sexy. I immediately fell to my knees before her radiant glory. I had never been in the presence of a god before but their visage was overwhelming. Have you ever been in the room with someone particularly charismatic? You know how everyone’s eyes are always drawn to them, ears hang on their every syllable, feet shuffle in an attempt to get closer to them. They have a sort of burning intensity to their personalities that lures the unwary in like moths to a flame. Being in the presence of Lady Luck was a bit like that. Only a hundred times worse. Usually I would be able to ignore these charming personalities, it was part of my job to be the most charming person in the room after all, but before her magnificence I felt like every one of my character flaws was exposed. The mask was ripped off and I was exposed as the dull, boring person I actually was. The Lady seemed to notice the effect she was having on me and reigned in her rampant majesty. I felt the pressure ease off of myself and was able to struggle to my feet, gasping for breath. I had never felt anything like that, I was usually a very independent person. She smiled warmly down at me and I felt my stupid gullible heart glow with pride at being noticed by her. “Ace. My lucky champion. How I have loved to watch your pursuits, but the time has come to move on, and you are destined for greater things. I know your darkest secret, Ace, I know what you did in between shows” My breathing sped up enormously in fear and I clutched at my chest as if my heart was about to burst in shame. She knew? No! No! I had tried so hard to hide it. Hide my secret shame from the world. Magicians are expected to be a bit weird but in a kooky way, not in that way. I couldn’t let anyone know, ever! “You watch My Little Pony. You are a Brony” It’s true! It’s all true! I had been a closet Brony for at least a year now, ever since discovering the show whilst trawling the internet for new tricks to incorporate into my show. Initially I had been turned off but it had grown on me. It wasn’t long till I discovered the Brony community and had been hooked ever since. It wasn’t even about the show itself anymore, the community was massive. A million fan fictions, interesting music and beautiful pictures had been spawned from that show. The show was still a big part of it but personally I was more interested in what the Bronies could do. “I am offering you the chance of a lifetime. The chance to go to Equestria and meet ponies, but I warn you, it is not like the world you see in the show. The land is in turmoil as forces of epic proportions collide. Other gods are also sending their champions under the rules of the game. They are calling it the Chess Game of the Gods. However, I have always been more of a card player myself, which is where you come in. There are many unfortunates out there who need a little luck and I want you to bring it to them. You shall be my Wild Card and fortune shall smile upon you. What do you say?” I took a moment to absorb this proposition but once it had sunk in my head could not move fast enough as it bobbed up and down eagerly in consent to this. I would have shouted my affirmation as well but words had failed me before this stunning goddess and her wonderful proposition. “Very well then, prepare yourself” She waved her hand once at me and I felt whatever was acting as a floor in this realm collapse beneath me, and I was falling down into the blackness. ---------- When I next awoke it was in a far more vibrant setting. The void I had been trapped in was replaced by verdant trees, sun sparkling through their branches. I could hear the tweeting of forest creatures around me in this peaceful place. I felt like no place on Earth could be this beautiful, it had to be true. I was in Equestria. My body felt weird however, particularly my legs. The joints felt weak and aching. I attempted to wiggle my toes only to find I had no sensation down there. Have I been paralysed? I was in a panic now, horrified at the prospect of being crippled. I pushed myself up as quickly as possible, ignoring the blood that rushed to my head, and looked down upon what had used to be my legs. But they weren’t my legs anymore. At least, they weren’t the ones I recognized as my legs. The legs that I had had for the past 25 years of my life. That had carried me from town to town to perform my act. No, those old, familiar legs seemed to have been replaced by a pair of goat legs. I could only stare at them in horrified curiosity, some parts of brain apparently shutting down in shock at the sight of the furry appendages. The hair on the legs was the same rust red as my own hair, and the cloven hooves at the end looked solid and real. The legs melded smoothly into my torso just above the waist. For a horrified moment I wondered if I still had genitals. After a bit of exploration that I shan’t go into detail over I found out that I still do. They are just hidden beneath my fur coat like most animals have. Unless I am aroused, no one's going to see anything that would invalidate a PG rating. Note to self: avoid strippers Second not to self: does Equestria even have strippers? They don’t normally wear clothes. I also noticed that I was naked from the waist up except for a fine looking belt that looped my waist. Attached to the belt were a variety of pouches and bags, inside which I found the tools of my trade. Various lockpicks, colourful powders, a deck of cards, multi-coloured handkerchiefs. Anything the magician on the go might need. I also made the wonderful discovery that my deity had granted me my greatest treasure. An old well-chewed pipe. I had taken up pipe smoking a few years ago as a way to relieve the stress of street performance. Why not regular cigarettes? I hear you cry. Well, I decided that if I was going to give myself cancerous blacklung then I was going to look damn good doing it. Also, I figured that if I lived long enough for my hair to turn white then I would make a bloody good Gandalf impersonator. My ears felt a bit odd too, as if there was some kind of weight above them. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to know what was there but my hands had made up my mind before I could stop them. Grasping either side of my head I noticed that there were new additions, what felt like curled goat's horns poking out just above my ears. The horns curled back slightly so that they essentially surrounded my ears in protective bone. A long, thin tail swung out behind me, appearing to have a mind of its own. My god...I mean Goddess. I'm a Satyr. After this brief stint of self exploration I dragged myself over to a tree and used it to clamber to my hooves. It was surprisingly easy to balance on them, I just had to remain flat footed all the time, no leaning forward too far. Walking was an entirely different matter. My experience as a human had got me used to the variable balance of feet, being able to push of the ball of one foot and land with the heel of the other. A sort of controlled falling. As a…satyr? I guess I was a satyr now. Anyway, as a satyr I had to be far more careful with my balance and ensure that my front hoof was stabilised before moving the majority of my weight onto it and moving my back foot. It was a while of practice in that forest before I could walk at even a reasonable pace. Don’t get me started on running. Satisfied with my efforts so far, I decided to set off and begin my quest. Bring luck to those without it. Simple enough really. Before I began though I uttered to myself words of great power. Words that had been handed down to adventurers beginning epic quests since the days of old. An old earth saying. A phrase of great power and wisdom and consolation to the soul in times of need. “Allons-y” ---------- Summer Storm’s heart felt like it was about to burst as she galloped across the plain. Great wheezing breaths racked her body as she desperately tried to draw in oxygen to fuel her escape. Her ears twitched atop her head as they picked up the howls of the pursuing dogs. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this up but it wouldn’t be long now. They would catch her and drag her back to that damn hole until she was worked to death, but she wouldn’t go down without a fight. The anti-magic lock upon her horn may have prevented her magic from zapping the dogs to bits but she still had her hooves, strong from working in the mines, and her mind, sharpened by her training as part of the Equestrian National Guard. If they were going to try and grab her they better be prepared to lose a paw or two. She was approaching the edge of the plains that led into the Weaver Woods. Beyond those dense trees was the town of White Tail. If she could make it there she would be able to rally the guard, maybe get some reinforcements from Maneaoplis in the south, and hunt down these damn slaver dogs. Now that she knew where their cave was it would be a simple matter to wipe them out. Just a little bit further. Just a bit more. She threw a glance over her shoulder and was shocked by just how close the dogs had managed to get. Bounding forward on all fours they had crossed the plain in mere minutes and were almost upon her. In desperation she leapt forward towards the woods, hoping that the forest would be able to provide some protection from the swift dogs. She was sure that she had aimed herself perfectly to fit in between two of the trees and thus was quite surprised when she collided with an object. But rather than slide off of it in pain like she would expect if she impacted a tree the object gave way beneath her, comforting her fall and enveloping her. She opened her eyes to find herself face to face with a creature the likes of which she had never seen. From her position on top of its chest she could see that its face appeared to be furless apart from the red mane atop its head. Its expression was frozen in shock and what appeared to be pain. “erm…Hello.” Summer managed to stammer The creature just wheezed something in response. Its voice seemed to be trapped inside it’s throat. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that, what did you say?” “You're crushing my chest.” the beast managed to whisper to her. Summer reared back in shock, accidentally placing even more of her weight on the creature’s chest, who released a pained moan in response. “Are you calling me fat?!” Maybe now was not the time for this but Summer was quite proud of her body. She had been slim even before she had ended up working in the mine. In her opinion she was quite an athletic mare. Her blue coat accentuated this slim physique and her flank, bearing her cutie mark of a sun peeking out from behind a storm cloud, had been the envy of all the mares in the mine. How dare this random beast call her fat! “No, your hooves, are sharp.” the creature managed to say, a testament to its determination to insult her as her hooves, which were perfectly normal and not at all sharp thank you very much, were currently placed over each of its lungs, preventing them from reaching optimal working conditions. Summer was about to send back a biting retort when the danger of their situation was brought sharply back into focus by the arrival of a dozen panting figures. “Well, Well, just look at the two lovebirds,” the leader growled “take them both!” Oh yeah, the Diamond Dogs. Kind of forgot about them.