As it turned out, my flame could indeed cook things.
The problem was that it was just as exhausting as when I was setting that rock on fire. When it was just on my tail, it didn't seem to take all that much energy, but all I managed to do was slightly heat the fish before immediately cutting things off.
Eh, it still tastes good raw.
It was a bit weird, going back to eating raw meat after something as ordinary as muffins. (Though the muffins themselves were anything but ordinary, in terms of flavor.)
Still, sushi was a thing back home, even if I had never eaten any. But I had a sneaking suspicion that being a fox was a big factor in it tasting this good raw.
I tossed the remains of the fish in the stream.
I shivered involuntarily, and a light from behind me spooked me for a second.
I put my tail out.
Aliens existed. I lived among them.
I was an alien, and also alone in being one.
My tastes had changed. I shot fire from my tail. My brain was quite obviously modified. What else had changed? How much of me was Ryan, and how much was the fox?
I started to walk along the river once more, now quite conscious of the feeling of my new paws against the grass and rocks. My odd gait. Even the sensations of my ears and tail. My tongue against my teeth.
The smells around me had never been this sharp, either. I wasn't even sure how to describe them, other than "river," "wet grass," "raw fish," or "apples."
Wait, apples?
I looked up from the riverbank. I hadn't even noticed the trees that now surrounded me. They were spaced rather far apart compared with the Everfree. And, as my nose had deduced, they had apples hanging from them.
Huh, interesting. Looks like an orchard.
Well, I probably shouldn't pick any of them, then. As good as they smelled.
Though, given my new nose, that probably didn't mean much.
I don't think I've actually seen a wild apple tree though. Like, ever. Only pictures of them. In orchards.
I looked back at the river, and picked up my pace again. Even if Fluttershy was wrong about her directions, I was sorta fluffy. Even after waking up on Twilight's hard wooden floor, I wasn't exactly uncomfortable. As long as I was away from the Everfree, I'd be fine.
I looked to said forest, still visible on my left. I shuddered. I had no desire to go back in there. Only the promise of a portal back home made me even consider thinking about returning.
And that's even before the timberwolf threat. They were the entire reason I was stuck as a fox.
Okay, that wasn't entirely true. If I understood it correctly, things might have been worse if they hadn't done something. And being a fox wasn't awful. But I was getting increasingly suspicious at how my body just did things on its own. Had muscle memory that worked perfectly with an entirely different skeleton.
And even though my inner seven-year-old skipped with glee at the revelation, it seemed... odd that something like magic would exist without some sort of horrible price.
Well, okay, there actually was a horrible price for me. I had an Achilles' Heel of the highest degree. Which was another reason I shouldn't be taking this well, from a logical perspective.
Still, my seven-year-old insisted that white flames were awesome, and I should quit whining about it.
I could die, though.
That's even if I can trust all these overly friendly ponies.
"Howdy!"
I blinked rapidly.
Okay, of all the things I might have expected to find in an alien world, that accent is certainly not one of them.
It wasn't even English being spoken, either. It was the strange lyrical language of the ponies, in a Southern accent. Which made it just that much more bizarre.
But I shook those thoughts out of my head and turned to greet the new pony. An orange "earth" pony with blonde hair and a honest-to-goodness Stetson. I tried my best to hide my surprise and not to just gape awkwardly.
"Hi. Is this your orchard?"
She smiled with clear pride. "Sure is. What brings you to this here neck of the woods?"
I pointed with a paw. "Just following the river. A pegasus named Fluttershy told me that it leads to Whitetail Woods."
"She'd be right. It's a ways, but it's a good bit safer than the Everfree, I can tell you that."
"Thanks. I trust Fluttershy, but it's nice to be sure."
She nodded. "So, you have a name?"
"Uh... Shining Light."
"Name's Applejack. But really. If you didn't want to tell me, just say so."
I looked at her again, making sure I heard her correctly. Her deadpan expression remained the same.
"Fox, I can read your face. That's a pretty good pony name, but you ain't a pony."
"Oh." It was certainly not the welcome I was used to with the other ponies, but she didn't seem quite hostile, either. Just exasperated. "My name is Ryan."
She smiled. "That's better. I hope we can eventually be friends."
"Shining Light is what Ryan translates to, according to Fluttershy."
Applejack rolled her eyes. "I've spent enough time around Twi to know that translations always lose somethin'. Names ain't about that anyhow. Only time it's good to make a new one is if ponies can't say it right. But I can say 'Ryan' just fine."
I rubbed the back of my head with a paw. "Right. I don't know why I didn't just correct every pony back when it was just two."
"Well, I'm sure I've taken quite enough of your time. Feel free to stop by anytime." Her eyes flicked back. "Uh, well, maybe it would be better to have some advance notice. Give me time to tie up Winona, that sort of thing."
She looked at me nervously. "Actually, I probably should do that now before things go sideways."
Applejack ran off, leaving me completely befuddled next to the stream.
The rest of my walk through the orchard was quite pleasant, after I shook off my confusion. I didn't grow up next to any farms, but it was nice to have a very Earth-like scene, if I couldn't have the real one. Something that I could recognize that wasn't plucked straight from a storybook.
Maybe I should have asked Applejack for one of the apples.
No, no, I still didn't know what I could do to even help anyone. I mean, I could look at dreams, hypothetically. And I could make fire. Both of which were objectively cool, but of questionable usefulness.
But maybe a single apple would have been okay.
It's too late now anyway.
And the orchard was already coming to an end. So was the river.
At least the part of the river I was willing to follow.
Really, the part of the Everfree on this side didn't look too bad, and it didn't have half the menacing air of the southern part, but I wasn't exactly going to risk it.
Besides, there was a dirt path that lead around it, so ponies obviously had the same idea.
Or maybe it was just the path from the town, and it had nothing to do with following the river. It was handy regardless. It didn't feel as good as grass on my paws, though.
I wish Fluttershy gave me more specific directions.
Or I brought something to do.
Not sure exactly what I would have brought to do, but absently looking at clouds had already lost its charm. I had gone hiking before, but at least then I had a walking stick to play with mindlessly.
I did have a tail that shot fire, though.
Thank goodness being magically tired was, like, on a separate system than physically being exhausted, otherwise I don't think I would have been able to finish my little trip.
Sure, I had gotten a lot more physically fit during my hell of a stay in that castle, and I think that even translated to my new body, but that was something very different from this slow but constant physical activity.
Or maybe foxes just weren't built for walking this far.
The path had quickly run off in the wrong direction, so I found a railroad that hugged the edge of the forest more closely.
Not too closely, though.
The rails themselves were rather shiny, though, so it was clearly still in use. As entertaining as it might have been to walk on them, I was staying far away.
I was vindicated, too. No less than two trains went past in the hour or so I followed the track.
It was only after the second train and probably an entire mile of track that I actually realized what that meant. This society already had steam power. And they still had thatched roofs.
Eh, magic probably made things easier in general.
But the tracks went over the river. So I continued my trek alongside it once more.
It did give me a great view of the mountains, but this was the longest and most boring part of my trek yet.
I did learn that my flame could burn on water, though. Which kinda made sense, since it worked on rocks.
Still, I ran out of magic power before I even got halfway there, which probably contributed to the extra boredom. It was nice to be rid of the shadow of the Everfree completely.
My plans of just 'casually visiting Ponyville' tomorrow were shot, though, that's for sure. I could see the forest in the distance now, but based on the position of the sun, it took almost half the day just to get here.
Oh, and my legs hurt like hell. That was also a thing.
Still, as I came close, I could see that as forests went, this was well worth the trip. It was a lot closer to what I grew up with. Sure, there was the odd plant that looked just a bit off, but Sunset said that was just a magic thing, not necessarily a "dangerous forest" thing.
Even my new sense of smell told me it was better. Which was freaky in its own right, but reassuring in another.
Still, I probably should stay near the river for tonight. Even if it takes me a while to figure out a way to fish, it's guaranteed food and water.
Shelter probably was the most important thing to get done tonight. As strange as it would be to dig like a dog.
Fox. Whatever.
Maybe I should look for a hill or something. Make a Hobbit-house. That would be fun, but probably not very good-looking unless I suddenly gained the ability to chop down trees and make them into planks.
Still a better plan than just digging a hole and curling up in it.
Eh, I'll deal with it later. There's still plenty of daylight left. I wonder if there are any berries worth eating here.