//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: The King of Angels // by Wheenesss //------------------------------// (Isaac's POV) It had been a few hours since I had been freed, and I was just bumming around the edge of the Everfree Forest, watching the events of the Season 2 premiere play out before my eyes. As Discord was blasted by the Elements of Harmony and turned to stone once again, I simply turned on my heel and walked the other way. "I wonder when they're going to start coming after me?" I muttered, as a flash of golden flames enveloped my form. In a second, I had assumed the form of a manticore. Not long after arriving in Equestria, I discovered I could copy the abilities of any living organism through direct physical contact. Unfortunately, the story behind this discovery isn't so grand... (Flashback to 1,500 years ago) "AAAAAGGGH!" I screamed, running from a fucking manticore! As in the weird hybrid thing that doesn't exist in the real world but does in Equestria. Yeah, I somehow ended up there. Seriously, what was up with this day? The reason I knew this was because I eventually came up on a clearing with the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. If that wasn't enough , it wasn't abandoned yet! There were royal guards patrolling around it and everything. So I was in Equestria at least one thousand years before canon starts. After my initial joy wore off, something else occurred to me. If what happened to me was anything like what happens in fanfiction, I wasn't going home anytime soon unless I figured out how I got here. Even if I did, there would be no guarantee I could get back. Sorry, I got off track. Now where was I? "SOMEONE HELP ME!" Ah yes that. To explain how this happened, apparently I wandered into his territory when he was hungry as far as I can tell. Luckily, manticores were somewhat slow and in this new body I could outrun my pursuer easily. The bad part was that I still hadn't adjusted to it, so I couldn't run fast. Plus there was the- *THWACK!* -tripping and falling. On the up side, failure was not an option and adrenaline kept me moving. My breath came out in short pants as I hurriedly got to my feet, sometimes tripping again. Thankfully this guy liked to play with his food, seeing as he wasn't running as fast as he could. How did I know this? Well when I looked back at him he had this amused smirk on his face. What a dick. As I continued to run, fatigue started to set in and I started slowing down. If I forced myself to go faster, there was no doubt that I would start tripping up even more. Is this going to be how I die? Eaten alive in Equestria by a manticore before I even got to meet anypony? God I'm already saying that crap. Eventually, my running space ran out and there was only a cliff. "Fuck..." I muttered, panting with my hands on my knees. A growl alerted me to the fact that my pursuer was going in for the kill. I quickly turned around to see the manticore slowly prowling towards me, the smirk gone from his face. "Nice kitty. Come on you don't wanna eat me!" I tried reasoning with it. Cartoon logic says it should be able to at least partially understand me, right? My words had no effect, and I slowly started moving sideways, the manticore's eyes following my movements carefully. "You're not stupid are you? We're by a cliff! If you jump me now, I'll just roll out of the way and you'll fall to your death!" He made a sound that was probably his equivalent of a scoff, then flared his wings. "Oh yeah, you have those. And you can tell I can't fly yet, right?" The smirk returning to his face was all the answer I needed. I fell onto my butt in exhaustion. "Well... FFFUU-" Before I could finish my swear, he pounced. Admittedly, I screamed little a little girl. I grabbed him by the jaw in what I thought was a futile attempt to hold him at bay,I didn't expect what would happen next. A shocking sensation coursed through our bodies, stopping us both cold. New strength filled me as I managed to turn him off the cliff. His roar echoing in my ears as he fell, his wings probably stunned temporarily. I was hyperventilating as I crawled away from the edge of the cliff, the shock sensation intensifying. I felt something within me changing. "Shit..." I hissed as I felt my teeth... growing?! I looked down at my fingernails. They were growing, sharpening, heck they even felt tougher! Then it intensified on my back and tailbone. "FUCK!" I screamed. It felt like someone was ironing my back! After that was the tearing I could hear and feel. Eventuallly, I passed out from the pain... When I woke up I had fangs,claws, a scorpion tail, and a second pair of wings. You can imagine how well I reacted to that. But once I calmed down and realized what I did, a whole ocean of possibilities appeared in my head. All I needed to do was touch someone or something and boom, what was once their's became mine.Of course I eventually sought out the changelings, just so I could look at least semi normal. Now I just have to prepare. (3rd Person POV) "Well, I'm glad that's over." said Twilight Sparkle with a sigh, the Element of Magic worn proudly on her head. "Agreed, that was just dreadful." replied Rarity. Pinkie Pie couldn't be happier "And, now that it's over, we can have a VICTORY PARTY!" she was already bouncing off the walls with excitement. "Though I can't shake feelin' we're forgetting somethin'." Applejack continued, scratching her head with a hoof. "What else is there? We beat that chump Discord, Ponyville is back to normal, case closed!" Rainbow Dash said, eager to get this day over with." "No, she's right! Remember what Discord said in the vault just before he left?" Twilight answered, her eyes widening in realization. (Flashback to Earlier Today) "...then find the Elements back where you began. Now if you excuse me, I have to free a friend of mine who was also stuck in stone." On that note, Discord vanished from the stained glass windows with a chilling laugh Everypony gasped. Well almost everypony, Fluttershy just squeaked and made herself small. "Wait a minute, that jerk has friends?" Rainbow Dash asked. "And if'n he does, why wasn't he there helping him out?" Applejack continued. "It's not surprising, really. Discord was such a ruffian that he probably drove what few friends he had away." Rarity answered with a flip of her mane. "Maybe he was hiding somewhere in town, watching from the sidelines?" Fluttershy suggested. "If that's true, then we're not out of hot water yet girls. We need to comb Ponyville for this guy, ASAP!" Twilight declared, taking leadership of the group once again. "Right!" the others replied with a decisive nod. On that note, the six of them began their search. I just hope we can find him before he causes any trouble... the purple unicorn thought, biting her lower lip in worry.