A Jackal's Trickster
To say tension was in the air would be to display the utmost arrogance to the obvious aura radiating from a certain Jackal, this particular Jackal being a god of death. As he sat within the dark confines of his chamber there was an undeniable atmosphere of restlessness, a state of constant alert and caution causing such tension. Sitting in his chair while he rubbed his temples, a restless sagging around his deep golden eyes. Although all gods eventually have their "bad days" yet Anubis had been like this for sometime.........It had been months on end since the god had any form of rest beyond an hour or two.
As a result his was mood quite bipolar, one moment he would be normally weighing the hearts of the dead next he was storming of to his abode in an irrational rage. His onyx fur was quite unkempt as well as the robes around his waist, he didn't bother wearing more clothes than necessarily needed. On the subject of clothing he had even begun to stop wearing most of his jewelry, first it was his armbands and now ever his scarab collar!
In truth the old god was falling apart. He did himself no favors however as he never allowed himself to have some recreational time at least, never mind a vacation. It was the sudden sound of distant steps which alerted his pointed ears to the presence of another, they seemed as though they had perked up somehow.
Anubis sat back in his Throne-of-sorts and did his best to retain a slight yet friendly smile upon his muzzle, so far he had been bearing his teeth to anyone foolish enough to enter his abode. Though he knew who his visitor was although they had not yet revealed themselves, his senses among others things revealed more than what many were comfortable with.
Fixing up his headdress to make himself more presentable before taking hold of his Was scepter, which was leaning against his throne prior. The golden markings rimming his eyes helped to hide the dark sagging caused by his lack of sleep though he was not an idiot and knew the other gods had caught on to him long ago, to think differently would be blind arrogance or worse a complete and utter fool.
When the footsteps became so close they were just at his doorway Anubis thought it would be polite to greet his visitor. "Greetings, Osiris".
Anubis found little use in lighting his Throne room with candles as the light gave him a headache after a while, one of the signs that even his body was becoming worn down. Through the darkness emerged a man with green flesh who held a friendly smile towards the jackal. "Anubis, my friend. How are you faring these days?"
Anubis could only smile at the game he and Osiris had been playing for so long. "Of course I am, my spirit will never waver in my duty. Haven't we already established this old friend?"
Osiris stepped closer to his friend, the linen wraps around most of his body becoming clearer. "Yet isn't it the duty of a dear friends to care for one another? I know you yourself are not blind to my knowing of your situation and all myself among the others wish to do is help you".
Anubis appreciated his friends concern and that of the others yet he would rather just get on with his duties instead of others worrying about him, it was just his nature. "I can assure you I am fine, I have never failed and neither will I trust me I am fine".
Sighing in agitation Osiris gave up on the death god. "I am glad you are confident within yourself as I have a task for you, it is nothing of complexity or of much concern yet I would appreciate your help".
Anubis's golden eyes gleamed with intrigue, something which hadn't happened for some time. "What is this task?"
Walking away Osiris gestured Anubis to follow. "We shall discuss that in my abode over wine and bread, this is after all a matter of little importance still I would appreciate it".
Anubis stood from his throne with scepter in hand and before he followed his friend the jackal picked up his Ankh. With his precious possessions in hand he followed behind his friend, though admittedly at some distance, Osiris was walking strangely fast. Suddenly his friend vanished from sight, believing himself to be slow, Anubis picked up his pace to catch up to Osiris. Anubis thought that it probably wasn't such a good idea to have no lighting at all.............
Suddenly a orb of green magic struck Anubis in the chest and he was lifted off the stone ground, due to the darkness he knew not where it came from. He tried but even if he wanted to look around frantically he couldn't even move his head. 'It could only be......No Osiris wouldn't.....'
A gaping green portal of energy formed underneath Anubis although he struggled with all his strength there was just no breaking the magical bonds placed upon him. As though his captor decided to be merciful the invisible restraints were unfastened however as they were Anubis was dropped into the portal yet just after the tip of his ears sunk into it the portal collapsed upon itself, gone as quickly as it had appeared........
Once the eerie silence faded a falcon-headed man stepped from the shadows with a red and with a large red and white crown upon his head. "Did it work?"
Osiris stepped from the shadows with a rather suspicious smile upon his face. "It seems so.......In honesty I never expected it to work!"
The falcon man examined the floor where the portal had once been, looking for any signs that Anubis was clawing his way back. "You know he is going to be hate you for this?"
"Hahaha. Horus I am aware of that yet I am sure he will enjoy the vacation I have planned for him". Osiris begun playing with one of the ostrich feathers on his crown.
Horus looked at green skinned man curiously. "What if he does not want to stay? He will come back".
Osiris placed a hand on the falcon-mans shoulder. " That would usually be a problem however I placed an enchantment on him". Horus's eyes widened. "He cannot leave until he enjoys his time there, then he may choose when to stay and go".
The act of trickery and friendship committed by Osiris stunned Horus. "Where did you send him then?"
"Oh nowhere special. Just a friendly little place I know of, Anubis will eventually relax there if he wants to or not". He left Horus to ponder on his cryptic answer as he faded into the darkness of Anubis's temple. "Have a good day Horus!"
Horus could not nothing but twitch his falcon head in confusion. 'He sure is strange sometimes'..........
Outside Ponyville......
"Behold! The great! And powerful! Trixie!"
Standing proud in front of her mirror Trixie shot a cocky grin towards herself before bouncing her mane, a mixture of an incredibly light blue and streaks of a darker shade. Her amethyst eyes gleamed with a bright light, something prior a week or two they wouldn't have held.
Trixie turned from the mirror and placed her star patterned hat down upon her drawers, which were tightly pressed against her small bed. She had been living in her caravan on the outskirts of Ponyville for a good month now and had found friends in many of them, which helped her paranoia of everypony hating her. Weaving through the tight space of her caravan was something Trixie was adept at over the years of living in it plus she was earning a decent wage with her new and genuine magic shows, she wanted to prove that she was now an honest and hard working pony.
Feeling thirsty the mare put some blocks of wood into her stove and ignited it with a magical spark, being a talented unicorn had its perks. She levitated an already full kettle and placed it on the stove. 'I fancy some herbal tea' the optimistic mare thought to herself. Her last performance had left her feeling both exhilarated and parched from all the shouted she had to do due to the large crowd, though she did not mind it was more bits on her part.
As she waited for the water to boil Trixie let her thoughts rest on her plans life so far and how her life was turned around by Twilight Sparkle, once a bitter rival and now the sweetest of friends. Now she occasionally visits the recently coordinated Twilight Sparkle for magic lessons where she learned new things each time she went over even the simplest of magics, at first this surprised her and shook her ego to the core yet over time she found it blatantly obvious.
The kettle began to whistle as Trixie levitated a cup out of a cupboard and placed it onto a small table with two chairs. She then collected a pinch of herbs with her magic and dropped it into the cup before floating the kettle over the cup and pouring in the boiling hot water, the warm steam held the sweet scent of the herbs she selected. A spoon was then levitated out of a draw and began stirring the herbal tea to mix it in, she wanted to get as much flavor out of the leaves as possible.
KNOCK! KNOCK!
"Uuuhhh, I just want my tea! I probably will regret not answering it though...." Trixie rushed over to her caravans door, hesitation was obvious and some reluctance was clearly noticeable. Grabbing the doorknob with her hoof she pulled the door open expecting.............
She didn't expect what was standing at her door, unknown to her she was gawking like an idiot. "I apologize if I have interrupted you but I seem to be lost".
Standing before her was a tall stallion with a coat of onyx fur and eyes a piercing gold. "H-How may I help you?"
"Firstly, I would like to know where I am. Then I will contemplate on what to do next". Trixie found the very way he spoke as though strange as though he found everything alien, including her. Furthermore he did not hold the appearance of a normal stallion or a pony for that matter as his ears were longer and pointed also his muzzle was longer while also more narrow than the average stallion, these oddities were only the first things she noticed about him.
"Well currently you are bordering Ponyville, a small town yet you will find helpful ponies everywhere". His eyes focused on the town some distance away, Trixie observed the gold markings around his eyes which had curved lines extending beyond the rims of his eyes, this got her thinking about the possibility that he was from a distant country.
A smile spread across his lips revealing unusually sharp teeth for a pony, Trixie felt her body tense slightly at the sight. "You have my gratitude, truly my lady. Now I must go and I wish you a good day".
As the mysterious stallion walked away she took further note of his lack of a mane and his tail was not a colorful length of hair but a thin and sleek tail covered in the same black fur as the rest of his body. On top of that he didn't seem to have hooves but.........Paws?
Trixie sighed. "This is to much for the confused and thirsty Trixie to handle, I will drink some tea".
Even though she had just met the strange stallion........If he even was a stallion, he was male all the same, Trixie had a feeling that they would cross paths again. Why wouldn't they? She runs Ponyville's most popular magic show!