> Oleander goes to Ponyville > by GLaD for you > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Oleander and Pom > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oleander finished her battle with Tianhuo. This might have been her toughest fight yet against the captain of the guards. Looking at her partner. She thought, might not have stood a chance without Fred. Fred just hummed and glowed as usual. This is one book I don't regret reading. "Well that's four down, who's next?" Oleander asked Fred. Fred twisted and turned in multiple directions. "Hmm there is a sheep to the southwest who is a key keeper." "Really? The sheep chose a champion. This might be interesting." She grinned. The dark neon pink in her mane glowing with a greater intensity as she thought her dark strategies. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Instead of roaming Fœnum competing for the key, she is doing everything she can to avoid it, but she keeps running into the other Key Seekers. And to make things worse, her puppies’ protective instincts make them formidable fighters. She keeps winning the key! So the other Key Seekers keep tracking her down, picking fights! She’s desperate to find the strength to escape her predicament – but what she doesn’t know is that the one little lamb who had the strength to speak her mind just might have the strength to save the world. - Official Pom Lore ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a few hours Oleander and Fred finally found Pom. "Surrender your piece to me and no one will get hurt." Oleander said with her most intimidating evil voice. "oh dear" quivered Pom. "Unicorn actually" replied Orleander. Amused with her pun, she chuckled to herself. "........ok" said Pom barely whispering. "Huh? Can you repeat that?" Oleander asked confused. " You can have my key pieces" said Pom in a soft but still audio voice. Pom placed her piece on the ground and walked away from it. Oleander floated the piece to her other pieces, and together they made the key. Fred, finally we can end this. Fred was being silent for some reason. What happened to him. After walking about 500 hooves towards the predator King's lair, Oleander felt like she was being followed. Turning around she noticed Pom and her puppies were following her. "Seems like you have a bit more to deal with before we get there." Fred gleefully chortled. Oleander turned her head around and looked at Pom. "Why are you following me?", Oleander stated slightly annoyed. "Can't... go back. Not until Predator Queen is vanquished." Oleander pondered this... She could not really deny that logic. "Uggh fine, just make it less obvious if possible." After some time it was getting dark and they weren't anywhere close to the Predator Queen's lair. Oleander made a simple bedding in the grass. Then she placed Fred under her as a pillow. It seemed she was able to sleep better this way. Perhaps it was his humming or the light he provided. Oleander was starting to wake up and she felt something resting between her legs. It was Pom, snuggled in close to preserve heat. Oleander blushed and grumbled.. "Why me?" It's hard to look menacing with a sheepkin and her puppies nuzzling against her. After awhile Fred just started laughing... "Mistress, you are defiantly the most scariest warlock now." "Hush Fred, sometimes it's nice to get these simple small breaks." Poking Pom with a bit of magic.. "Come on Pom, get off of me." Pom woke up and got up, her puppies wagging their tails. Oleander facehooved and started walking towards the Predator Queen's Lair. It was defiantly going to be a long week. However, is that baaaaad? thought Oleander. > A tale of departure > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oleander collapsed on the floor after striking the final blow to the Predator Queen. The dark neon pink in Oleander's black hair flickered with an unholy light. The dark grey of her coat was stained with a little bit of blood from both the fighters. "It's been a long journey, right Fred?" stated Oleander. Fred was the name she gave the Unicromicon that was lying down next to her. 13 seasons ago, Oleander became a "Dark Unicorn" by being the only Unicorn to ever study the "Dark Magic." Shunned by her race, ironically she was the only non pasifist Unicorn. So she entered the fighting contest to become "the key that would seal away the predator race." After defeating the 5 other contestants, she was tasked to stop the predators from continuing to enter Fœnum. (World of Them's Fighting Herds.) Fred aka the Book of Undying Misery aka the Unicromicon was a black and red book adorned with runes of power and a demonic skull motif. The pages were red and well read, the skull motif along the bindings were red and it glowed with red energy. It also spoke often in a dramatic and off putting way. However Fred was her only friend, and knew together they were unstoppable. Fred replied with a "You did well kiddo. When you're done resting we got to seal the portal" Orleander hated when Fred teased her. Though she was a much younger mare than Fred, it still stung a tiny bit. Standing up and moving forward, her hooves clopping against the floor with Fred floating behind her. The portal was a large maw of various colors. Mostly blue, however the refraction of light cause the occasional red and yellow around the edges. "Hmm so what now I wonder?" Oleander said out loud to herself. "As the key, you just have to walk through the portal and it will close behind us. Allowing the rest of Fœnum to rest in their comfortable hay beds." It of course being a metaphoric term, especially with the Huoshan's literally fiery manes, wings and tail. "Wait, does that mean we won't be able to come back?" replied Oleander in a questioning manner. "This world is going to be boring now. However you will gain the power to go back to Fœnum with just a bit more studying. Also think about what form you want to be. I'd suggest Succubus but hey, Eldritch Abomination is pretty cool too." mentioned Fred with a humorous tone. "Besides tentacles are in this season, at least among the pleasantly perverted fanfiction writers." Oleander stared at the book. It often gave dark prophecies of the future. However that last comment he made was just to random. After looking at the portal she walked through it. Fred might be mischievous but he almost never lies. They appear at the edge of a dark forest, with a rural looking town in the distance. Since she could hear the sounds of wolf howling from the forest she decided to go to the town. "Fred get ready, if that town is full of predators we are going to make them scream. This will be a dark opera indeed." Oleander mentioned with her eyes glowing red with the patches along her black mane. Fred thought to himself. "Mistress has grown up to be a truly malicious mare." Fred unable to cry in happiness instead just hummed and floated behind her as usual. > We're only open from 9 to 5 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oleander trotted through the town. Many of the buildings were traditional. However a gingerbread house and a castle made of crystal hideously clashed with the rest of the town. "Bet you the predator royalty is in the castle. Wanna sneak in and dethrone their leader? Predators often retreat when the alpha is taken down." stated Fred in a sing song voice. "Sure, however if there is nothing of value inside it then we are destroying that castle. Just looking at it makes my blood boil." replied Oleander is a tired tone. The doors of the castle had guards sleeping on each side of the door. They appeared to be equines, however they had markings on their flanks. Possibly the the marks were a branding of being slaves to the predators. Quietly trotting to the door, the warlock and demon book sneaked inside. After walking through a few corridors adorned with tapestries and opening a few doors the two found themselves inside a library. "Ok, maybe this place doesnt have to burn yet. Fred can you help me search for spellbooks of power? It would also be nice to know the magic that this world's predators are capable of." Stated Oleander. Searching through most of the library, it appeared that none of the books gave off any Aetheric energy. "Is this whole library nothing but history and fiction? Eh let's just go find the leader already." Traveling further down the castle the pair came into a throne room. A map on a table with 6 thrones around it. They each had a different symbol near the head area. Including..... a trio of Apples, a trio of Balloons, and a trio of pink butterflies on 3 of the 6 thrones. "That is very weird" thought Oleander. "What could they mean?" After exploring the room for clues, a pair of doors opened. Oleander and Fred, hid under the table, moving a throne to block the sight of the door. "Spikee!! Breakfast is ready." The sound of the predator voice echoing through the room. "Aww, cant we just sleep in today Twilight? Noone is going to come on a weekend." stated a male voice. "No Spike.. being a princess means we set a good example. Besides, what if someone wants to come in and read a book? " The voices were getting louder, so they must be approaching the table. Well let's get the first attack in and catch the predators off guard. Oleander mentally chanted a spell of dark energy and let it fly towards a winged unicorn. "Twilight watch out!" stated the small dragon and shortly afterwards a pink shield appeared around the princess. The two magical energies collided and both fizzled out. A winged unicorn princess? Wait this is no predator... "Sorry, I yield.. Case of mistaken identity." stated Oleander. "Fred, did you know about this while we were hiding?" "Of course not mistress." replied Fred in a mischievous manner. The princess squealed in joy. "A talking book???? OhMyGoshOhMyGosh." Oleander not sure if this was a magical incantation took a defensive stance. Twilight just looked at Fred, "Hello I'm princess Twilight. Care to start again with introductions? This is just like Making friends with your murderous assassin volume 3." Twilight grinned to herself. "I'm Oleander and I see you met Fred, we come to stop the predators in this dimension from invading Fœnum." "Mistress, she is examing me in a creepy manner. Assist me in making her stop." Twilight stopped glancing at Fred. "Fœnum? No, this is Equestria. There are some predators here especially in the Everfree forest. However none are planning a invasion that I know of. This is a land of ponies, unicorns and pegasi. There are nearby kingdoms of Griffins, Yaks, and shape changing insects.. but doubt any of them are invading your world." "Fred what do you suggest we do now?" stated a inquisitive Oleander. "The same thing we do every night, become the bane of predators and those who follow the light." replied Fred. > Learning to Pony - Spa > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oleander moaned into the cushioned table underneath her. It wasn't intentional, however Lotus was a paragon of her craft. It caused Oleander's thoughts to shift while this majestic pony was fixing the aches in her grey furred back. Lotus the blue pony with pink hair. Besides the palette change it was difficult to see the differences between the sisters. This bothered Oleander quite a bit. Noticing these small details is how she did so well at home. It was the small differences between a kick, a slap or the usage of magic. The difference of being food to predators or not. Rarity had power here. The talent to make dresses and set them at whatever price she wanted. This power got her bits, the currency of Equestria. This power was used to purchase this spa service for herself, Fluttershy and Oleander. Then her mind drifted back to home about 13 years ago. The Order of the Horn shun Oleander's choice. However it was her choice to make. They gave warnings that her soul was become food to Fred, that she would lose control of her magic. She had seen Fred's mind and purpose, they did not. Becoming Fred's food was never on his mind. It was a symbiotic relationship. They both needed each other. If Oleander died, Fred would become a inanimate book again. His ever seeing large glowing eye would not look as bright and full of energy when his bindings were opened.. He wouldn't be able to become a mass of shadow with that cool looking demonic skull at the end. Aww, she loved hugging him in that form. He was kinda warm with her magic flowing in him. In return he shared his power, his abilities. Losing control of her magic was even more absurd. It was a part of her that was similiar to her horn, eyes, hooves and tail. They don't get out of control when properly exercised. The only reason they said these things about her was because of books, of tradition. Choosing to follow tradition and morales from unicorns that were long gone. Life is for the living, if you can't make you own decisions then you might as well be a sheepkin from those other stories. Apparently they were also followers and never lead. However Pom made her own choices. She had a destiny as well, her life a testament to that. She was living proof that books were wrong at times. Of course they were, they were written by living beings that had their own flaws and skills. Pom's puppies also had a sort of symbiotic relationship with Pom. They were her guardians, her protectors against the predators. She was like a parent or maybe a queen. Looks are deceiving, though they look cute... those things are Pom's weapon. Oleander was in shock the first time she seen them fight a predator. It was grisly, maybe barbaric but at the same time their motions were beautiful. They were a painter artist, the body of Pom's choosing was the blank canvas. And that paint, the warm dark blood of the the predators.... it conveyed so much about life. Ah Lotus was done, and trying to get her attention. Time to go to the steam room? Ok, lead me there. "Oh darling you look so rejuvinated. This trip was defiantly a good idea." stated Rarity. After awhile she talked with Fluttershy about fashion and animals and Equestria in general. The way they cared about each other, was this love? Love was often the vessel to create families. However friendship was a non sexual form of love. It was something Oleander only shared with Fred. He was waiting for her at the front desk. He was her partner in the dark arts, somebook she was proud to call friend. > Equestria is a nice place to visit, however .... > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oleander turned the page of the book she was reading with her magic. She was sitting down at a table with a stack of books on it. They were a history of Equestria's notable magic users. Twilight was working on some sort of machine with what looked like a mess of gears and other forms of technology. Spike and Fred were assisting Twilight. Spike providing the manual labor and Fred had some knowledge of portals. Mostly from demon summoning rituals. However, Twilight didn't ask him to go away so he must be helpful in some way. Twilight pulled over a chalkboard and made some mathematical calculation. Clopping her front hooves together she exclaimed in her excited voice. "I think we got it!" Oleander got up from the table and walked towards Twilight. "Got what?" replied Oleander. "I'm very confident that I know the exact frequency and variables needed to make this device be able to send you home." stated Twilight happily. "We could probably learn some things if we stayed however," Fred expressed his opinion. "This isn't our home. Part of the reason I joined the tournament was to show my superiority to the other simple minded unicorns" said Oleander with pride in her voice. Oleander thought about the sheepkin that watched her entering the Predator Queen's castle. Besides I promised her I'd come back. Sure, it was mostly a promise so that Pom wouldn't follow me inside. The portal glowed with similar colors to the one that sent her here. "This is a one way trip." Twilight stated, to make sure the situation was understood. "Fred, time to depart. Goodbye Princess Sparkle and her minion Spike" Spike puffed his cheeks and exclaimed "I'm not her minion..." Oleander chuckled at how easy it was to get a emotional response out of him. "Goodbye Oleander, you were a nice and interesting guest." stated Twilight. Walking through the portal with Fred floating and humming behind her. Oleander's sight got a little hazy, but returned fairly quickly. Probably just a side effect she thought. Walking outside of the predator castle, there was Pom and her puppies happy to see her return. Pom quietly, but loudly for her said, "You're back!" "So what's next? Gloat to the unicorns, visit the sheepkin and return Pom to her home?" stated Fred. "I'm a big girl, I can go where I want." Pom stamped one of her front hooves on the ground angerly. Pom might be angry but her tone of voice and appearance made it to cute to take seriously, thought Oleander. "In any case our story isn't done yet," Oleander stated and started trotting in some direction. Fred and Pom and Pom's puppies following Oleander. In part, to tell her that she was leading them in the wrong direction.