Here now stood the Wolf and the Lion at the gates of a strange forest in a strange land, set on a path that led towards an uncertain future. Looking upon the pebble dashed dirt road that led into the forest, towards what they guessed was the town of 'Earth Ponies' they'd seen in the vision, the two men considered their current predicament in silence.
The forest before them looked peaceful enough, a mixed clump of oak, beech, fir, hazel and yew dotted the inside, spongy, damp moss spread out over the forest floor like an endless blanket of dark green unprocessed silk, and the chorus of sparrows, blackbirds and the odd occasional woodpecker digging for grubs in the bark of the trees echoed throughout the woods like discordant yet soothing orchestra. Yet both knew from experience beauty often hid a frightening and dark secret. Even if this world was inhabited by, as Tywin put it, 'children's fantasies', that didn't discredit any evil or danger that might exist.
"So, 'Lord' Stark" said the Lion to the Wolf, "how shall we proceed?"
"My first thought before that spirit did....this...." replied the Wolf "was to take the direct approach. No use hiding if we're meant to help these...'people'. But as you can plainly see, Discord has somewhat complicated that plan."
"As much as I am shocked by this turn of events" said the Lion, "how different is it really? These creatures would most likely attack us even if we were still Men, perhaps more so."
"You seem very calm under the circumstances Lannister" said the Wolf.
"Despite this strange happenstance, I will not sink so low as to cry out in horror nor fear. Panic will not change us back, nor will cursing any God, or in this case 'Chaotic spirit', and believe me, I'm surely tempted to do so right now. But you too seem to be accepting this in stride. Then again, in the war following your death, some of my soldiers believed certain members of your family could transform into Wolves at will. I guess now that rumour has come true after all."
At the mention of his family, the Wolf's eyes narrowed in suppressed anger, "Yes, the war. I have some questions regarding that for you."
"You won't like what you'll hear Stark" said the Lion.
"I'm sure I won't" the Wolf replied, his words accompanied by a soft growl, "but why don't you tell me anyway?"
"And what would that accomplish? You said it yourself, it won't change anything that happened."
"Perhaps my last statement was too mired in subtlety" said the Wolf, now coming dangerously close to the Lion with anger burning in his eyes, "It was not a request."
The Lions mouth curled in cruel amusement, "You demand something of me? My title may have been lost Stark, but I am still a Lannister, and this time, the Lion really does have claws." As he said this the aforementioned claws slowly creeped out from under his velvet paws, each one bright white and sharp as a spear.
Undeterred, but now wary, the Wolf continued to glare menacingly at the Lion, his teeth bared, and his paws dug into the ground, as if ready to pounce. "Neither of us are Lords anymore Lannister. Titles mean nothing here."
"No, you're right Stark, they don't. What does is respect and fear. That's how I kept the Seven Kingdoms together during both the Mad Kings reign and the reign of my idiotic grandson. How I assured my family's survival and prosperity, and that is why you ended up on the block Stark, and why Westeros was plunged into chaos, because from what I heard, you didn't have the guts to make the difficult choices, and now Westeros and your family have paid the price for your mistakes."
The Wolf now growled louder and angrier then before, bright yellow fangs now visible beneath his quivering lips.
"I'm going to be blunt Lannister. If you, or any of your kin harmed mine in any way....."
"And now I'll be blunt Stark. Attack me now and there's a strong chance one or both of us will be killed. If we intend to survive this mad venture we'll need each other, and we certainly can not afford vengeance now. Perhaps when this is done, then we can put this rivalry to rest, one way or another."
The two stood in silence, their eyes locked upon the other, the Wolf's burning in subdued anger and the Lion's in barely disguised contempt. After what seemed like half a minute the Wolf slowly backed away, his body relaxing and his snarl fading, though his eyes remained just as hard as before.
"Alright Lannister, you have a point but mark me, after this is over I will get my answers from you, and if it comes to it, my vengeance."
"Yes Stark, that's a great motivator for me to open up." The Lion sighed in minor frustration, "Lets just get this over with." Nodding in reluctant agreement the two men turned beasts started walking into the woods, though it look them a little while to get used to their new legs and bodies.
As they continued to venture further into the woods they began to notice other, more subtle changes begin to take place, none of them welcome even if they were needed. Both started to pick up smells both familiar and new, and what's more at increased intensity. To someone who had just moments ago been a man, whose nose was admit-tingly one of the weaker variants of the Animal kingdom, this was disconcerting and mildly disturbing, and surprisingly difficult to master. The same rang true for their hearing, able now to pick up even the smallest rustle in the leaves in the nearby bushes as unseen wildlife rushed to escape the two predators striding past them like Lords.
Despite being in a new world and new forms, the two men could not help but think of home whilst they passed the innumerable and eerily familar trees. Ned was constantly reminded of the Wolfswood near Winterfell, the woods mostly made up of tall and menacing pines, grand oaks, and the resilient Iron wood whom his former banner men, the Forrester's, had harvested for generations for strong ships and sturdy shields that were the envy of all in Westeros. Every tree rose high and proud, reaching to touch the unreachable heavens to soak up every ounce of the suns fading rays as it slowly started to dip towards the western horizon. Even if they were in a new world the trees felt just as alive to Ned as the Hart tree in Winterfell's Godswood, and surprisingly just as seemingly holy and worthy of respect.
Tywin on the other hand could have cared less about the woods, though looked upon a certain way they reminded him somewhat of Kingslanding. Each tree rose to grab as much sustenance for itself, and rise above the rest, whatever the cost to it's fellows. Each Tree was an enemy to each other, all competing for the ultimate goal with only the laws of nature and their food source to keep them in check. Just like in Westeros, were each Lord, Knight, Priest and Peasant all in their own way jostled and competed for more land, more power, more freedom, for good or ill intent to rise above everyone else and shape the world as they saw fit.
The Lannisters just happened to be the bigger tree, for a time. But now, if Discords words were to be believed, all that had been lost, or soon would be, and for the first time in years Tywin started to feel a small twinge of guilt. He knew how the game was played better then anyone (aside from Tyrion), and yet he had still fallen prey to its workings thanks to his poor skills as a Father. Yes, he never denied he hadn't been a good Father, he knew he'd treated his children as pawns in the Game, but as he reminded himself, that's how the world worked. 'A good man does everything in his power to better his families position,' he reminded himself, remembering the lesson he told Tyrion on the day he recieved news of the Starks deaths, 'regardless of his own selfish desires.'
But with that thought he remembered Tyrion's response. That bitter sarcastic chuckle, his reply dripping with anger and selfishness, 'it's a good lesson, only its easy for you to preach utter devotion to family when you're making all the decisions. When have you done something that wasn't in your interest? But solely for the benefit of the family?' And he remembered his own reply, 'the Day you were born!'
He'd made no pretense he hated that deformed creature, how his birth killed his beloved Joanna, how he almost took him out to the sea to drown him. But despite his hatred he kept him alive, helped him grow into the man he would become. And for his unselfish act he was rewarded with two bolts to the heart. Two bolts he perhaps deserved? Maybe. But definitely two bolts that killed not only himself, but his family too. He didn't need to be told of their deaths to know that without him, they would crumble. Cersei would make enemies of everyone, Jamie would be too stubborn to be of any use as a politician and Tyrion was either dead or in exile. It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what would come next.
And as he let that sink in, he realized how much of this had been his own fault. Maybe he had been more selfish then he'd let himself believe. And he certainly wasn't as smart as he had believed. The Lion was blind.
But the time for melancholy didn't last long, for a few more steps into the forest the Wolf and the Lion were suddenly thrown up into the air, their back legs suspended 5 ft from the ground from thick, strong ropes. Immediately afterwards dozens of green and brown painted equines armoured in dark Brown leather Jerkins sprang from the surrounding trees, armed to the teeth with a variety of weapons, many of which the Lion and the Wolf were confused as to how they could be carrying such instruments, including Steel tipped spears, yew longbows, small iron axes and large knives all held in the hooves as though they were human hands, all trained on them. What world of madness had they chosen to defend?
"Another predator seeking an easy meal?" One of the equines said, a female by the voice, armoured in a padded jack and an iron helm covering most of her face and wielding a loaded crossbow in their direction. "You should have turned back when you had the chance."
"HOLD!" The Wolf cried out, temporarily halting the Equines advance, "we haven't come to harm anyone."
This seemed to give every Equine in the clearing pause as many of them gasped in disbelief and shock. The Mare, seemingly the leader quickly calmed her charges then turned back to the Wolf. "We know animals can think, but we also know they can't talk" she brought the crossbow further up towards the Wolf's eyes, murderous intend burning in her eyes. "Who are you, and what are you doing in our forest?"
'Well, this will be awkward to explain' thought Tywin. Obviously the whole truth isn't going to fly here, so here's hoping they believe in magic'.
"We are not what we seem my lady" said Tywin, "we've been cursed to walk as a Lion and Wolf, we came here seeking a cure."
"Cursed eh? By whom?"
"We...don't know" Tywin continued, "we were ambushed in the night, knocked out, robbed blind and left like this come the dawn."
"A likely story" another Equine spoke up, this one a Male, wearing heavy maile armour, and wielding a sword in one hoof and a shield in the other standing to left side of the Mare leading the group, "how do we know you're not Unicorn Assassins?"
"That happened once Lwythred, and the killer paid for her crimes with her life" another Equine replied, another male.
"My Son, our Chancellor, nearly lost his life to a 'Wild Animal attack', and 4 of our best warriors were torn to shreds defending him, or have you forgotten so soon Caled?"
"I also know the Unicorn who organised the attack has been executed, by his own people no less. I doubt any Noble Unicorn would make the same mistake as her."
"You don't know them Caled, they...."
"Enough squawking! Both you!" the Mare shouted, silencing the pair. Turning back to Ned she again aimed her crossbow at his head, "despite Lwythred's ravings he could be right, but I'm not about to kill innocent creatures on a suspicion. You'll come with us back to town, and we'll discover the truth about you."
Lowering her crossbow and strapping it to her back she waved her left hoof towards the canopy and quick as you please the ropes gave way, dropping the Wolf and Lion face down on the ground, hard. Quickly the surrounding Equines rushed forward and none to gently pulled the two to their feet. With that the party walked on-wards down the pathway with their prisoners in tow.
All the while a shadowy being, not quite equine, not quite any natural creature watched them from the canopy, gave a small amsued chuckle and slithered away into the darkness of the woods.