Cloudwalker Chronicles

by krafty

Lesson 5: Who I Am

Copper Head, Spot, Grand Prix, and Shadowstorm were in K9's office. K9 himself was reading a few papers that had been given to him and chuckling as he read, “I see you four have been through quite a bit. Burning down buildings. Starting stampedes. Color me impressed, I didn't think that any of you had it in you.”

Shadowstorm leaned back in his chair and boasted, “C'mon Teach'. I've been getting into trouble as far back as I can remember. This assignment was too easy.”

K9 shot an annoyed glance at Shadowstorm before saying, “Now, for your grade. Copper Head and Shadowstorm: B+. Grand Prix and Spot: A.”

“What?” Shadowstorm nearly jumped out of his seat, “How come they got a better grade than we did? That was A+ material!”

K9 sighed and rubbed his temple, “Please don't argue with me. If you need a reason, what Grand Prix and Spot did was much more... grand. Sure, you led a stampede of elephants. That is pretty dangerous. But the girls burned down a nightclub. I was seeing how far you all were willing to go to finish your assignment well; even if it put others in danger.”

“B-but...” Shadowstorm searched something to say, “ I endangered Copper Head's life! Does that count?”

K9 raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is this true Copper Head?” The earth pony nodded and showed the teacher his bandaged leg. K9 tutted and marked something on one of the papers he had. “That would bring your grade down to a C.”

This time Shadowstorm did jump out of his seat and landed on the floor with a thud, “What? Why did you lower it?”

K9 sighed, “You don't get your teammates hurt! Without your team you will not be able to graduate! You might not even be able to survive till graduation! That's why your grade has been lowered.” K9 took another look at Copper Head's leg and asked, “Spot, you're a unicorn. Can you do something magic to fix his leg? He's going to need it.”

Spot nodded and made her way to Copper Head. Her horn sparked blue and long tendrils of magic wrapped themselves around Copper Head's leg. Copper Head shivered as Spot's spell brought on a freezing sensation that ran throughout his entire body. Spot stopped her spell and looked up at Copper Head, “Better?” She asked.

Copper Head tested his leg by stomping it on the ground and putting his weight on it. Amazingly, there was no pain, and even the scar wasn't as noticeable as it was before. “Yeah, feels great!” Spot smiled and made her way back to her seat.

K9's words to Shadowstorm made Copper Head remember Bonez, the zebra he had met earlier. She had lost all of her teammates and confessed her fear that she would never graduate. She also mentioned that Krafty was a generous pony, which conflicted with what Copper Head had seen about the King.

“Face it, Shadowstorm.” Grand Prix smirked, “You got bested by two girls. Why don't you just give up now?”

“Hey! It was an off day for me. I'll TOTALLY do better next time.” Shadowstorm jumped out his chair again and slammed his hoof against the teacher's desk. “What's the next assignment?”

K9 brushed his student's hoof off the table, “While I do appreciate the enthusiasm, please don't hit my stuff. As for your next assignment, it's something of a time trial. You'll go to detention and your grade will be determined by the number of days it takes for you to get out. One day gets you an A, two gets you a B, so on and so forth.”

Spot raised her hoof and K9 acknowledged her. “What do you mean when we 'get out',” Spot asked, “What exactly is detention?”

“Good question, Spot, and it is one that I choose not to answer.” K9 smiled mischievously, “But don't worry. I'm sure the others in detention will be glad to fill you in. But that's not until tomorrow. It's already late, so I'll show you four to your room.” K9 slowly got out of his chair and walked over to the “door” that led into his office. He spoke another incantation that none of them could make out and the door swirled and shifted like it did when they had first encountered it. This time, a door didn't appear, but four hoof prints formed in its place. “Now here's one of my favorite parts,” Krafty remarked, “You four put your hoof on the prints, and it will create a dorm for each of you based on your preferences. It's one of Krafty's many great inventions.”

The students stared at the four hoof prints, unable to actually make out what they were looking at. Eventually Grand Prix silently walked up to it and placed her hoof on the first print. As soon as she did, a red door materialized. It was very plain, but the red color was vibrant and very distinct.

“Woah! Let me try!” Shadowstorm climbed over Copper Head and Spot and placed his hoof in the next print. The plain red door became outlined by a great glimmering stripe of gold. It added character to the door, but alone it drew too much attention too itself.

“That looks like fun!” Spot exclaimed. She walked up to the third print and placed her hoof on it. The gold trim that was formed by Shadowstorm started to bleed into the rest of the door. It twisted around and crawled its way all across the surface of the door. It formed very brilliant gilded flowers, but seemed incredibly fragile; as if it could scratch off at the slightest abrasion.

“Looks like I'm next.” Copper Head made his was to the last print and placed his hoof there. The door started to bubble and out of the red emerged a steel plate that barred the door. It gave sturdiness to the frame, but it looked crude when compared to the rest of the door.

When the process was finished, a bright light blinded the onlookers. After they recovered from the sudden burst of light, the ponies could see that the door had materialized in front of them. No longer was it just an image on the wall; it was an actual door. “Well? Go on in.” K9 nudged them and together all of the ponies entered the door that, somehow, had a litte bit of each of them in it.

Once inside, the group was amazed at the size and splendor of their “dorm”. It took them into a kitchen area, that had a stove for cooking and an ice box to keep things cold. There was a grand oak table with more than enough chairs for all of them. Located opposite the kitchen was a closed door, with the name “Grand Prix” carved into it. Intrigued Grand Prix opened the door and peered inside. Her eyes lit up and she turned to say, “None of you come into my room, or I'll kill you.” She then slammed the door abruptly.

“No one would want to be in your room anyway!” Shadowstorm yelled back at her. “Seriously,” Shadowstorm said aside to Spot and Copper Head, “Like it would kill her to be nice once in a while.” Shadowstorm looked around and spotted a door down a hallway with his name on it, “Anyway, I'll see you all tomorrow.” Shadowstorm let out a big yawn, “I'm gonna get some sleep.” He made his way to his room and disappeared inside.

There was a stairway off to the left of Grand Prix's room with a door at the foot of it. The two ponies inspected the door and discovered that it was Spot's room. “Good night, Copper.” She called out before closing her door.

Copper Head stared up the stairs and made his way up them step by step. The stairs reminded him of his home, back in Equestria. He could actually picture all of the family photos that line the wall on the way up the stairs. When he reached the top, there was a single door with the name “Copper Head.” Copper Head hesitated, then swung the door open. To his amazement, he found himself back in his own bedroom, or at least, what looked like his bedroom. There were noticeable differences between this one and the real one, as this one was tidy and didn't have the family photos that he kept on the dresser. He continued looking around the room. He glanced at the covered window and threw back the curtains. It was just like looking outside the window at his own house... He tried to open the window, but it wouldn't budge.

“Copper Head?” The stallion spun around to see who had spoke. It was Spot. Tears welled up in her eyes, and Copper Head went to comfort her.

He asked, “What's wrong?” He already knew the answer though. She was homesick just like he was.

“It... it looks just like home. How do these ponies know all this?” She pressed herself closer to him, “I'm scared Copper Head.” Copper Head held her close till she stopped crying. She wiped away her tears before asking, “Could... could you sleep in my room? Not with me of course... I have an extra bed in there. It's where my sister would have slept...”

“Sure, Spot.” The mare thanked him and led the way down the stairs. Normally, any stallion would be excited about spending the night in a mare's room, but these circumstances weren't normal. How does Krafty know what are rooms look like? Copper Head contemplated. He doesn't seem particularly evil, but after what I've seen, he's got to have some scheme going on. Copper Head continued to try to figure out Krafty's game when he entered Spot's room right behind the mare.

“Well, here we are. It's a little small, but space is hard to come by back in Neigh Jing.” Copper Head looked around the room. It was very small considering everything was in the same room. The kitchen was in one corner and the shower was in the other corner. In the middle of the room were two bed rolls, both of them covered in a pink flower pattern.

“It's nice.” Copper Head replied, “It must have been great living in a big city.”

“It was alright, there were a lot of good books back in Neigh Jing,” Spot yawned and got into her bed. “There were a few things I had to put up with though. The smell was horrible and the constant noise made it hard to sleep.” She turned and looked at Copper Head who was just getting into the other bed roll. “What about you? What was your home like?”

Copper Head closed his eyes, picturing his home back in Equestria. “It was quiet,” He said, “We had no neighbors and the air was clean. We didn't have any kind of learning; my entire family worked from dawn to dusk.” He turned over and looked at Spot who was looking back, “I guess that would make it completely opposite to what you're used to, huh?”

Spot nodded, “It sounds nice.” Spot let out a loud yawn, “Wow, I didn't notice how tired I was. We best be getting to sleep. Goodnight Copper Head.”

“Goodnight, Spot.” Copper Head rolled over and tried to sleep, but was unable to. He couldn't help but ponder why Krafty would bother keeping Spot and Copper Head there. He went over everything he had gathered about this place. It is far away from Equestria. Hati and Skol, the two wolf brothers, are working for Krafty and had kidnapped both Copper Head and Spot. According to Angelstorm, Cloudwalkers acknowledged the existence of Doom, the dragon ruler of Tartaros, who Copper Head had seen in his dream. Krafty is planning something for the wielders of the Elements of Harmony and from the look of things, his plans are sinister. Lastly, he created a school where cloudwalkers and other races are put to work creating “simulations” of the outside world. Eventually, his weariness took over and he drifted into sleep.

“Copper Head! Wake up!”

A voice called out to Copper Head in his sleep. The half-asleep stallion called out, “Spot? What is it?” He felt a nudge that caused him to sit up. He slowly opened his eyes as it had suddenly become bright in Spot's room. After his eyes adjusted, he realized he wasn't in Spot's room at all and he wasn't talking to Spot.

Sitting at a table in front of him was High Noon, the stallion from his dream. “Howdy there. Sorry for the rude awakening; were you expecting your marefriend?”

Copper Head was still confused, “Marefriend? Uh... yeah...” It then dawned on him that High Noon must have been talking about Spot. He blushed but didn't say anything more about it. Copper Head looked around and noticed that he was in High Noon's “house” in Tartaros. There were no obvious signs of repair after Doom ripped off the roof of his house. “So why am I here?” Copper Head questioned.

“Just to talk.” High Noon replied. He got up to look at Copper Head's flank. Upon seeing the cutie mark he smiled, “I see you finally got your mark. Mind telling me what creature you fought? You don't have a horn, and you don't have wings... It must have been a mammal.”

“How did you know that?” Copper Head exclaimed, “Have you been watching me?”

High Noon chuckled, “Of course not. It's something that all of our kind has to go through. Even I had to fell my own monster.” He rubbed his unicorn horn with his hoof. “I'm curious as to what you fought; won't you tell me?”

Copper Head was wary but answered his question anyway, “I fought a wolf named Hati. After I accidentally drank some of his blood, I started going into these 'blood rages'. Are you saying you know something about that?”

“I know quite a bit about your condition, but that wolf named Hati intrigues me...” He stared off into space as if contemplating something in his head. Finally he said, “I only have so much time to teach you about your past, so that is what I will do.” His horn glowed and a large book flew off the shelf.

As it floated by, Copper Head could make out the title. It read “Joraguur”. “What does that mean? Joraguur?” Copper Head inquired.

High Noon sighed, “It's what we are Copper Head.”

“Is that... some race of pony?” Copper Head was starting to get a little scared.

High Noon shrugged, “Yes... and no. Just listen.” High Noon opened the book to the first page which held a picture of a swirling mist in front of a very regal alicorn. High Noon cleared his throat before starting, “In the twentieth year after the birth of Queen...” Without warning High Noon threw the book across the room which landed with a thump and a flipping of pages.

The movement was so sudden that it made Copper Head jump, “What was that for? I thought you were gonna tell me what a 'Joraguur' was!”

“Oh, I'm gonna tell ya.” High Noon eyed the book that was on the ground. “I just remembered that the book was cursed. I put a hex on there sometime ago and never took the time to remove it.” He used his magic to place it back on the shelf, “Besides, I like to tell it in my own way.” He cleared his throat again before restarting the story, “An incredibly long time ago, before Celestia, Luna, Discord, or even Doom was around, a great alicorn queen waged a terrible war with a griffon king. Many lives were lost on both sides, and a great many innocents were slain. Then one day, beings of mist began appearing on battlefields all across Equestria and the griffon lands. Many did not understand their purpose as the creatures only hovered in place; as if waiting for something to happen. Both sides deemed them harmless and resumed their meaningless war. It is said that as the first drop of blood dropped, the mist creature had slain the attacker.”

Copper Head raised his hoof, “Question! What were the two sides fighting over?”

High Noon facehoofed, “Of all the questions you could have had, and you want to know what they fought over?” Copper Head nodded innocently. “I don't know; land maybe? Food, gold, bastard hippogriff babies?”

“Hippogriff babies?”

“Pony and griffon hybrid. They're quite cute actually.”

“Oh...” Copper Head slowly nodded, “I'll save the questions for later.”

“Well, eventually the war changed from a fight between the two kingdoms to a struggle against these new creatures. It was not long after that the griffons named them the Joraguur, a name in an ancient tongue which loosely means “regulating spirits” as they would 'regulate' the battles that were fought. In the beginning, the ponies and griffons were able to defeat the beings, but not long after, the Joraguur were able to adapt. They slowly built up a resistance to unicorn magic and became physically strong to fend of griffon attacks. Eventually, both sides gave up hope and called a draw. Both sides left and the war was ended.”

“So...” Copper Head interrupted, “I'm a shape-shifting cloud?” Copper Head then extended his front leg and started flexing if, as if trying to make it change into something else.

“Not exactly. As the battles stopped, the creatures started following the soldiers home. The warriors knew not to attack them, so they just became part of everyday life. Many years after the war, the creatures had taken on the shape of ponies be it earth, unicorn, or pegasus. One thing led to another, and hybrids were born. This is what we are.”

Copper Head computed everything he said. He wasn't sure to believe it or not, but with the things he had recently been through, anything seemed possible. But one question started to nag him above all else, “Does that mean my family is the same as me? These... Joraguur? My sister is a unicorn like you.”

“Well, that part is tricky. While it's true that you and your sister share the same blood, the fact that she is already a unicorn means that she doesn't have... enough of the right blood.” He pointed at his own horn, “I wasn't always a unicorn you know. I was an earth pony till I killed a dusk elemental as a child. You see... we are all different depending on the magic that we absorb from other magical sources. For instance, you drank the blood of a magical wolf so you have the teeth and bloodlust of a carnivore. I absorbed the essence of an elemental so I became a unicorn. And then some of us become pegasi if we slay something with wings.”

“Wow, that sounds awesome! Whatever happened to the Joraguur?” Copper Head looked expectantly into High Noons eyes, but the look he gave back was full of sorrow. The unicorn got up from the table and walked into the other room. He came back with a glass of water which he started to drink.

“Sorry, thinking about that always chokes me up... Water helps...” He set the glass down and hesitantly started the story. “We don't have a name. We are not Joraguur, those cloudy beings from another world; our names have always been given to us by others. Guardians, Slayers, Vanguards – different names for the same race of pony. We began to fall apart after the fall of Discord in a time when we were called Berserkers. We would go around and destroy nuisance monsters. The occasional ursa major, lich, and ogre always kept us busy; and everypony appreciated our help. Everypony except Celestia.”

“That seems kind of strange.” Copper Head said inquisitively. “All of the ponies I know view Celestia as a kind and benevolent ruler. Surely the Berserkers getting rid of monsters would make her happy right?”

High Noon shook his head, “She always disapproved of our violent ways... and the fact that we were almost immune to the Elements of Harmony. There was almost nothing she could do to stop us by herself. That wasn't what set her off though.The final straw came when my friend Bear Claw confessed his love to Princess Luna. Celestia was furious at the prospect of a Berserker being with her sister. Celestia was always over-protective of Luna, and she manipulated Luna's feelings for Bear Claw and overloaded the Elements of Harmony. It turned Bear Claw to stone and killed all of the other Berserkers. All of them except me and Wonderbolt here in Tartaros.”

“That can't be true though!” Copper Head interjected, “I'm still here! Which means that some of them survived, right?”

High Noon nodded, “The younger ones most likely survived as their Joraguur powers wouldn't have been activated. Without anyone to guide them, they rejoined society and the knowledge of our existence was eventually lost. Then we have you.” He narrowed his eyes at the earth pony, “The one pony who happened to have our blood, and absorbing the power of a very rare monster. I find it very strange.”

Copper Head smiled, “Yeah, sounds like something out of a comic book or a fairy tale.”

“I don't know what a comic book is, but it does sound like something from a fairy tale.” High Noon sighed, “Well, I told you what I wanted to, and I'm glad to see that you handled it so well. I need to get started on some research about that wolf so it's time you get back to your own world.” From out of nowhere, High Noon pulled out a frying pan and proceeded to close in on Copper Head.

“Wait!” Copper Head yelled, “I still have questions!” The frying pan flew through the air and hit the earth pony square on the head. His world went black and he drifted into peaceful sleep.

Spot woke up to the sound of Copper Head squirming in his sleep. She turned to look at him. He looked so uncomfortable. The bed roll looked much too small for him and... wait. The bed roll is too small? She looked again and confirmed her suspicions. When Copper Head got into it the first time he barely fit, but now the bed roll was blatantly too small. It was as if he had grown. She let out a yawn and ventured over to where he was. He twitched and rolled over, but didn't wake up. It's too early to think... I'll worry about it later... She opened up a window and saw the rolling hillsides of her childhood home in Neigh Jing. It made her homesick so she turned away from it. She was still groggy so the faint smell of something burning didn't reach her until now. “Fire!” Spot jumped over to Copper Head and shook him awake. “Copper Head! Fire!”

Copper Head woke up in a daze, “Huh? What?” He got up woozily. “Fire? Where?”

Spot pointed at the door which had a small puff of smoke coming out of the top of the door. “The main room!” She pushed Copper Head forward, “Open the door and I'll use my water magic to put it out!” Copper Head nodded and slammed the door opened. He felt a surge of water rush over him as Spot flooded the room with water.

“Hey! It wasn't time to add water yet!” In the kitchen was a furious Shadowstorm who was bent over the stove with a spatula in hoof, “How am I supposed to make my famous “Storm Cakes” if you go and add water at the wrong time?”

Spot and Copper Head looked at him quizzically. “Storm Cakes?” Spot asked. “What are those?”

Shadowstorm crossed his hooves and smiled, “It's a Storm family recipe! Singewheat pancakes that are burnt to a crisp till they're blacker than a rain cloud! Gotta add water at the end to keep them from being too dry.” He sighed and put whatever was in the skillet into the trash, “But they're ruined now... It was gonna be a surprise for you guys.”

Spot giggled, “Well it's the thought that counts. Right Copper Head?” Copper Head nodded. He was still a little shell shocked by the information given to him by High Noon. He wasn't even sure if he should let the others know...

“What's all that racket?” Grand Prix emerged from her room sleepy-eyed and slammed the door behind her. “Can't a girl get her beauty sleep around her?”

Shadowstorm scoffed, “In that case, you're gonna need to hibernate to get rid of all that ugly.” In an instant, Grand Prix launched a chair across the room which crashed into Shadowstorm.

“C'mon you two!” Spot intervened, “We've got a big challenge ahead of us today. We need to work together!” The three ponies started chasing each other around the room. But what started out as a hostile act turned into something playful. Copper Head wondered how they could be so forgetful of the trials they had to endure in just a few hours. He laughed it off and joined in. Might as well have some fun; he might not have that chance again.